When I was in college the most arduous problem to moving was the hundreds of books. A friend of mine once prophetically said, "I want one reloadable book." He got his wish. I've been trying to keep fewer physical books these days, but even though I try to donate all the fiction to the library and keep the Kindle/Audible versions, I still have a ridiculous number of reference and "pretty" books.
Now I have gone and written a book and because I've chosen to do hybrid publishing, I get to pay for the printing and shipping of my books. This is a good, albeit expensive thing. Did you know that a box of 24 books weighs 28 pounds? I know, I lifted one.
I'm starting with 750 books, which is over 31 boxes of books, and it over $700 to ship from the printer to the warehouse. (I've chosen to have 36 books which is one and a half boxes, delivered directly to me) which is a separate shipping fee.
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So now I have 36 books. What the heck am I going to do with them? That's a rhetorical question. I am not into selling my own book, as I don't want to compete with the Amazon version of me (if you will), or offend those that have already bought the book. The dog sports communities often hold raffles at their events, so many of these are going to be given away in raffles or benefit auctions. The cool thing about raffles is people have a long time to look at and talk about the book long before it's given away. Everyone else is doing your publicity. This is called "buzz" and it's a very good thing indeed. Win-win just for the cost of a few books.
So after just a few personal conversations at a dog trial and about four emails, I have homes for 24 books. I signed them all with a varying set of pithy little phrases like
"Read this with your pooch" or "The nose knows" and my name and they are ready to go.
The only trouble is that because I'm not physically there to introduce the book, I need to make a little postcard that summarizes a part of https://ellenclary.org. So we're back to old school. I've make the screenshots, now I need to remember my graphic arts training and arrange them on the page. After about an hour of stealing from my own web site it was ready to go.
Then I get to decide whether just to leave it as 8.5x11 page or make postcards. I did buy a new printer, so I could do either if I bought card stock. the printer probably has a margin which is unfortunate, but I probably don't want to have to hand trim everything though I could do that down at Kinkos. Not sure. This might be a fun debate to start among my Facebook friends who are very tolerant of geeky issues.
I just used ordinary paper as they're just going along with the books as off-line information.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
Getting Used to Twitter
While I've been signed up on Twitter for a while, I've never been at peace with it. Instead i hang out on Facebook where I have (well, had) a manageable friends list and for the most part only posted to those friends. There was a time where I could go through my friends list and verify that i had met each person in the flesh at least once. Such were the days. Now with my participation in Facebook groups I have friends that I've never met in person which has taken a lot of getting used to. If someone is close to me geographically and we get on really well I arrange to meet up with that person for lunch just to have a face-to-face conversation which I really love.
But this only works along the west coast where I live. My friends circle has increased and my professional circle seems to be particularly fond of choosing those that are more that an incidental two hour drive away or don't live in a city that I already travel to. In fact, they are more than a two hour plane ride. Fortunately, there is video conferencing which I'm well used to from my work, and I've spent a lot of time on Google Hangouts and Zoom. I should also get used to Apple Facetime, but like many, I don't particularly like how I look in HD, and I look fine in most photographs.
And now, I have a novel coming out. I need to reach out to readers and not my well-protected Facebook friends list. So I now have an author page on Facebook (Hi there. I don't know how to talk to you yet.) And I have to get used to tweeting to the world. Eeek. AND I can't edit tweets, I can only delete them. Half of my Facebook posts are edited because of a typo or unclear wording. That's just crazy that we can't edit tweets. It's certainly technically possible.
So now I have a new skill to learn. How to talk to actual strangers in just 280 characters. One reason I rarely used Twitter is the old 140 character limit. Drove me nuts and I just said 'Fine, forget it.' Now I don't have that excuse.
Now what to say. I'm a writer, so just retweeting is not really my thing though it's a great way to get started. I need to create content. I actually have little trouble with Facebook addiction because I'm the one doing the talking half the time. I'm not caught up in that never ending stream of post after post which can depress you after a while. (There is research out there on this, but I don't have it at hand.) i just have to learn to ignore noise and there is a lot of it on Twitter. I have to focus on what I want to say and listen to what someone is trying to tell me. It's probably just as well we have to be brief.
But this only works along the west coast where I live. My friends circle has increased and my professional circle seems to be particularly fond of choosing those that are more that an incidental two hour drive away or don't live in a city that I already travel to. In fact, they are more than a two hour plane ride. Fortunately, there is video conferencing which I'm well used to from my work, and I've spent a lot of time on Google Hangouts and Zoom. I should also get used to Apple Facetime, but like many, I don't particularly like how I look in HD, and I look fine in most photographs.
And now, I have a novel coming out. I need to reach out to readers and not my well-protected Facebook friends list. So I now have an author page on Facebook (Hi there. I don't know how to talk to you yet.) And I have to get used to tweeting to the world. Eeek. AND I can't edit tweets, I can only delete them. Half of my Facebook posts are edited because of a typo or unclear wording. That's just crazy that we can't edit tweets. It's certainly technically possible.
So now I have a new skill to learn. How to talk to actual strangers in just 280 characters. One reason I rarely used Twitter is the old 140 character limit. Drove me nuts and I just said 'Fine, forget it.' Now I don't have that excuse.
Now what to say. I'm a writer, so just retweeting is not really my thing though it's a great way to get started. I need to create content. I actually have little trouble with Facebook addiction because I'm the one doing the talking half the time. I'm not caught up in that never ending stream of post after post which can depress you after a while. (There is research out there on this, but I don't have it at hand.) i just have to learn to ignore noise and there is a lot of it on Twitter. I have to focus on what I want to say and listen to what someone is trying to tell me. It's probably just as well we have to be brief.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
The Actual Book Arrives
A month before publication, my copies of my book have arrived. The actual book. Not an Advance Reader Copy. Now I have to find a place for 40 pounds of books (two boxes). A lot of them will be give-aways at raffles. I don't think I want to sell many books myself as I'd honestly rather leave Amazon to do the heavy lifting, and I don't want to compete with myself.
Now the hard part. since they won't be addressed to a particular person, I have to sign the give-aways with a general dog-related saying and my name. I've come up with some (not telling what), but I need to find more.
This is a good problem to have.
Now the hard part. since they won't be addressed to a particular person, I have to sign the give-aways with a general dog-related saying and my name. I've come up with some (not telling what), but I need to find more.
This is a good problem to have.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Song Writing Maybe
I probably will have to write a song in my next book (haven't decided yet). I keep making song writing harder than it actually is. I keep thinking there's a mystery to it, but when I look at songs I realize that isn't the case with the words.
Unless you're talking about someone who sounds like a poet. Then things get much more complicated. Examples would be Anna Nalick, Alanis Morissette, and Amy Rae, but creepy cool Garbage songs like #1 Crush are pretty straightforward. As long as I don't think about the fact that #1 Crush is 24 years old. Eeek. #1 Crush is a perfect paean to obsession and stalking. For writers it's pretty inspirational.
Here are the lyrics.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%231+crush+lyrics&oq=%231+crush+lyr&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i61l2.5231j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Unless you're talking about someone who sounds like a poet. Then things get much more complicated. Examples would be Anna Nalick, Alanis Morissette, and Amy Rae, but creepy cool Garbage songs like #1 Crush are pretty straightforward. As long as I don't think about the fact that #1 Crush is 24 years old. Eeek. #1 Crush is a perfect paean to obsession and stalking. For writers it's pretty inspirational.
Here are the lyrics.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%231+crush+lyrics&oq=%231+crush+lyr&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i61l2.5231j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Sunday, May 19, 2019
The Audiobook (part one)
I'm a huge audiobook fan, so I've always wanted to coordinate creating one.
Audiobooks are not yet a She Writes Press thing, but they were kind enough to put on a presentation by Michele Cobb, who does audiobook marketing for Forte Business Consulting, and Audible narrator Tavia Gilbert.I learned a lot from it and later contacted them both directly. I wound up hiring Michele for some marketing mostly because I needed her advice.
From those contacts, they gave me names of other narrators and I went through their samples on Audible. I came up with a list of four who I wanted to hear more from and contacted them all separately.
I then looked through my book and found a short two page chapter that had five of the main characters talking. While my book does not involve other languages, or different sounding accents, it does have over ten distinct voices, so it is not a beginner narrator book by any standard.
Some basics to keep in mind.
- Audiobooks are billed "Per Finished Hour" (PFH).
- There are aprox. 9300 words per hour. (9000-9500 is the actual range).
- Every narrator uses a different PFH rate. $250-$500 more than covers the ranges I was quoted.
- Most narrators these days have their own studios or producers that they work with. For the business nuts and bolts, you will be talking with the producer or the narrator.
- The roles involved are narrator, producer, sound engineer/director, and Quality Control (QC) person. All of this is covered in the PFH rate.
I contacted my narrators directly through referral email. Your experience may vary. You can also contact audiobook studio instead, but I am more comfortable starting with the narrators.
So the narrators all gave me a short audition of the piece that I chose, which is Chapter 13 where Harris is scolding them for not actually successfully obtaining DNA samples.
Now it was time to agonize. There were pros and cons to all of them and each time I played them, I felt differently. I played them for my copy-editor and she picked two that worked well for her and told me to pick from there. After a lot of debate I went with a narrator who wasn't as well-known on Audible (hence not as immediately recognizable), but has immense talents as an actor and is moving more into voiceover work. She's also really easy for me to work with, and handles the range of voices well, and swears she is not considering a career change any time soon (this is a series, so it's an important question for me.)
Talented narrators can handle all the voices in your book. You are not required to cast multiple voiceover artists though you certainly could if you wished to set a lot of money on fire. If you have a book as all encompassing as "The Help", then certainly consider multiple cast member, but it will cost you.
Now the talking stage begins, as I and the narrator (I'll name her later in the process) hash out what each character sounds like - some of them I have opinions on what they should sound like, others I am leaving up to her. She is off reading the book, and I am coming up with short character sketches of several of the characters for her.
So far, this has been the most enjoyable part of the publishing experience.
Audiobooks are not yet a She Writes Press thing, but they were kind enough to put on a presentation by Michele Cobb, who does audiobook marketing for Forte Business Consulting, and Audible narrator Tavia Gilbert.I learned a lot from it and later contacted them both directly. I wound up hiring Michele for some marketing mostly because I needed her advice.
From those contacts, they gave me names of other narrators and I went through their samples on Audible. I came up with a list of four who I wanted to hear more from and contacted them all separately.
I then looked through my book and found a short two page chapter that had five of the main characters talking. While my book does not involve other languages, or different sounding accents, it does have over ten distinct voices, so it is not a beginner narrator book by any standard.
Some basics to keep in mind.
- Audiobooks are billed "Per Finished Hour" (PFH).
- There are aprox. 9300 words per hour. (9000-9500 is the actual range).
- Every narrator uses a different PFH rate. $250-$500 more than covers the ranges I was quoted.
- Most narrators these days have their own studios or producers that they work with. For the business nuts and bolts, you will be talking with the producer or the narrator.
- The roles involved are narrator, producer, sound engineer/director, and Quality Control (QC) person. All of this is covered in the PFH rate.
I contacted my narrators directly through referral email. Your experience may vary. You can also contact audiobook studio instead, but I am more comfortable starting with the narrators.
So the narrators all gave me a short audition of the piece that I chose, which is Chapter 13 where Harris is scolding them for not actually successfully obtaining DNA samples.
Now it was time to agonize. There were pros and cons to all of them and each time I played them, I felt differently. I played them for my copy-editor and she picked two that worked well for her and told me to pick from there. After a lot of debate I went with a narrator who wasn't as well-known on Audible (hence not as immediately recognizable), but has immense talents as an actor and is moving more into voiceover work. She's also really easy for me to work with, and handles the range of voices well, and swears she is not considering a career change any time soon (this is a series, so it's an important question for me.)
Talented narrators can handle all the voices in your book. You are not required to cast multiple voiceover artists though you certainly could if you wished to set a lot of money on fire. If you have a book as all encompassing as "The Help", then certainly consider multiple cast member, but it will cost you.
Now the talking stage begins, as I and the narrator (I'll name her later in the process) hash out what each character sounds like - some of them I have opinions on what they should sound like, others I am leaving up to her. She is off reading the book, and I am coming up with short character sketches of several of the characters for her.
So far, this has been the most enjoyable part of the publishing experience.
A Review by Kirkus
My publicist has sent copies of my book (the ARCs) to reviewers. I already have a Kirkus review because I chose to pay for them to read it and give their opinion. In general, they liked it which is excellent new and the publisher now has a quote then can put on the back of the book just as it goes off to the printer.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ellen-clary/pursuits-unknown/
I should say the reviewer got a lot of the finer details incorrect, like they're not robotics researchers, but instead nanobot researchers, and my religious group is not really a cult, but, in general, it was fine.
The quote the publisher is going to use is particularly choice:
"The plot, which combines technology with religious zealotry, is pleasurably creepy"
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ellen-clary/pursuits-unknown/
I should say the reviewer got a lot of the finer details incorrect, like they're not robotics researchers, but instead nanobot researchers, and my religious group is not really a cult, but, in general, it was fine.
The quote the publisher is going to use is particularly choice:
"The plot, which combines technology with religious zealotry, is pleasurably creepy"
Sunday, April 21, 2019
The ARCs are here!
The Advance Reader Copies of my book Pursuits Unknown have arrived. For the first time, I get to hold my book in my hand and open it and read what I wrote. If you've never before experienced it, it's a pretty unique feeling. I know I'll get used to it, but I wish I could hang on to this "wow" feeling.
The publicist has ordered 50 of them that will get sent to reviewers. I haven't heard much further about this and I'm a little afraid to ask about them. I did pay for a Kirkus review and I'm trying not to worry about that either. The idea is that even if the review isn't that great, that there will likely be something in in that they can quote.
In the meantime, I'm supposed to be looking through my copies and see if there are any further corrections (I get one more chance.) I am pretty tired of revising, so I was completely convinced that we don't have any and then I look for a quote and I see a phrase that isn't quite right, and I see a line where the layout could be better. Argh. It never ends.
I need to check with my Advance Readers to see if there are any further publishable quotes they'd like to submit to me. Quotes now would go to the Amazon listing. I don't think I can mess around with the cover now.
Then there is one final PDF to approve that is the one that goes to the printer. You do have to pay attention here as my copy didn't have my most recent change, so that had to get fixed at the end.
The publicist has ordered 50 of them that will get sent to reviewers. I haven't heard much further about this and I'm a little afraid to ask about them. I did pay for a Kirkus review and I'm trying not to worry about that either. The idea is that even if the review isn't that great, that there will likely be something in in that they can quote.
In the meantime, I'm supposed to be looking through my copies and see if there are any further corrections (I get one more chance.) I am pretty tired of revising, so I was completely convinced that we don't have any and then I look for a quote and I see a phrase that isn't quite right, and I see a line where the layout could be better. Argh. It never ends.
I need to check with my Advance Readers to see if there are any further publishable quotes they'd like to submit to me. Quotes now would go to the Amazon listing. I don't think I can mess around with the cover now.
Then there is one final PDF to approve that is the one that goes to the printer. You do have to pay attention here as my copy didn't have my most recent change, so that had to get fixed at the end.
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