Funnies & Otherworldly Flowers

 

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post. We moved AGAIN, from California to Florida this time. Now that was a feat in the middle of a pandemic. It was very interesting to witness first hand what each state was doing.

Once we got to Florida and as settled as possible, I had to hunker down on writing my story for Pets In Space 5. It was very difficult to wrap my brain around during all the unrest and uncertainty, but I did it! There were a few weeks there that I didn't think I'd make it, so getting that book done was quite an accomplishment for me. Pets In Space 5 anthology is already up for preorder, but I will have another post about that. =D

I had a little inspiration from some exotic flowers I've come across since arriving to Florida. The first two, the white Spider Lily and the Passion Fruit flower, were spotted on a river and a bayou. The last one was in my mother-in-law's garden. They look so alien, they could be from another world. I thought you would enjoy them too. 

 

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And, of course, this has been a crazy year for everyone. It's been a total 2020, LOL. We could all use some YearQuil to get through the rest of it! That disclaimer cracks me up: "Caution: 2021 Could Be Worse."

Well, let's hope not, hahaha!

 

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The Science Fiction Romance Brigade Anthology

Tales From the SFR Brigade 

The Stranger by Kyndra Hatch

I am happy to announce my debut publication! It is a very late announcement since the publication came out in late June, but I was moving right as the book came out and things have only just now slowed down enough for me to blog about the good news. 

So much has happened since January that I don't know where to start, so I'll try starting at the beginning:

I am a member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade. It is a fantastic group of authors, readers, and SFR enthusiasts who help each other with writing questions, book promotion, and even book production. Late last year, sometime around November, a submission call was sent out for group members to send in short stories for an anthology. It was an experiment to get a free publication out for SFR awareness and promotion. 

But it wasn't just any 'ol experiment. They weren't looking for random half-hearted stories. They wanted good, professional, works and put together a stellar team of editors to decide which stories were publication worthy. 

Something about this submission call really spoke to me. I didn't have anything out at the time and the same self-doubt that kept me from writing before was trying to creep into my subconscious. They were asking for professional stories. They never straight up worded it that way, but I knew that's what they were looking for. I knew it had to be good. Was my work professional enough? Did I know the right formula for writing a SFR story? Was there a formula?

I already knew I could write, having gained that confidence through writing fan fiction. I just didn't know what it takes to write a publication worthy story. I'm still not entirely sure what it takes, but it's a learning process that I'm enjoying.

Writing a short story felt doable and I wanted to submit something so bad that I simply went for it. I spend a couple of weeks thinking about what I would write. Ideas are always bombarding my brain, but nothing was coming through that would be short enough. I started out with the thought that I could write a flash fiction, but quickly realized just how hard it is to write flash fiction. Seriously, sit down and try to write a story with only 1,000 words. Obviously, people can do it, but I think it might be more difficult than writing a full on novel.

I took numerous breaks, reading flash fiction to hopefully get the right frame of mind to write it. Unfortunately, I can't remember what I read since I was reading so much, but something about a couple being trapped in a cave sparked my imagination. I immediately stopped reading and started writing. I'm not even sure how that cave story ended because I haven't been able to find it again (I was perusing a lot of free sites on the web).

As Christmas holidays set in, I began to lose heart because it didn't look like I would make the beginning of January deadline. Then, the deadline date was moved to the end of January, so I continued the story with renewed vigor and was able to submit it on time. 

Then came the inevitable waiting game I hear so many authors talking about. Thank goodness I didn't have to wait as long as most of those discussions imply. I received an email in March. Knowing what it would be about, I put off opening it for a day, too nervous about the shortcomings I knew my story had. 

When I finally opened the email, I wasn't surprised that it was a rejection letter. I had researched and learned several things about points of view, voice, and showing versus telling after the story submission and I knew my story had all those issues.

However, with the rejection letter came a surprising second chance. It turned out that they really liked the story idea and gave me suggestions on how to bring it up to speed. If I was willing to revise it based on their suggestions, then I had another deadline. If I wasn't willing to revise, then they wished me luck in submitting the story elsewhere.

Now, I'm not proud and certainly not too proud to take direction. I'm an amateur and these folks were the professionals. Flattered that they liked the story idea and a more than willing student to improve my writing skills, I went through each suggestion with the enthusiasm of a preschooler with a new box of crayons. The best part about it was that I understood each and every issue they were addressing. All I needed was that little extra advice, because the story simply popped after that. 

Of course, the second chance wasn't a guarantee that the story would be accepted, but that part no longer mattered to me. What mattered was that I was getting help from proven authors. What mattered was that I was improving my writing skills. What mattered was that I would be more prepared for the next time I submitted a story for publication.

They said to submit the revised story to Diane Dooley, which make me even more excited because I had read and liked her works. She was also the person that helped me get more involved in the group and, therefore, indirectly responsible for all the stuff I had learned about writing through the group discussions. The thing I love about being a part of the SFR Brigade is how accessible and helpful all the authors are.

It wasn't two days after I submitted the revised edition that Ms. Diane Dooley forwarded it on for acceptance, that it was exactly what they were looking for. I was so excited, I couldn't stand it!

Naively, I thought that would be it, that the story would be published in the summer and that my job was done. I had no idea about the editing process...Since that is where I admit I am such a noob that I had no idea who the famous SFR authors were either, that is another story. 

For now, enjoy "Tales From the SFR Brigade" and my short story within, 'The Stranger,' as well as the fabulous short stories by Linnea Sinclair, Marcella Burnard, Erica Hayes, Liana Brooks, Pippa Jay, Berinn Rae, and Amy Laurens!

Smashwords: Tales From the SFR Brigade

Website: Tales from the SFR Brigade Anthology


Like the SFR Brigade Facebook Fanpage: Science-Fiction-Romance-Brigade-Fanpage

The SFR Brigade 2nd Midsummer Blog Hop - Out of this World

 

Welcome to the second SFR Brigade blog hop! The theme this summer is 'Out of This World.' I love this theme because I love daydreaming about other worlds and the beings that inhabit them. I wonder what those beings could be like, what they're made of, whether or not they think and feel, what their culture would be like.

There are a lot of movies out there that have aliens from outer space coming to Earth and immediately killing us. Sometimes we know the reason, sometimes we don't, but I always come away from those movies feeling like something is lacking. They rarely tell us much about those aliens.

I want to know who the aliens are. I want to know what makes them do the things they do. My imagination has to fill those unknowns.

So, for my yet-to-be-published works, I write about aliens. Even more interesting to me, is that they have the capacity to love. Science fiction romance is a great fit!

My aliens have been torn apart by war. They are called the Gathons and the Skellyds. If war were black and white, the Gathons are the good guys and the Skellyds are the bad guys. Both are of the same species from the same planet, but have divided themselves into factions with those names. War, however, isn't so black and white and I love to explore what makes a being 'good' versus 'evil' and all the grey areas in between.

The Gathons and Skellyds are energy beings made of pure energy, called cores. In order to contain this energy core, they have to inhabit some sort of body. They cannot inhabit organic bodies, because the energy will burn up all organic components. So, they inhabit metallic bodies, full of wiring and electronic components to include computerized 'brains.'

They are able to survive as pure energy without inhabiting a metallic frame, but those that choose to do so can only communicate by joining with another energy being. This creates a permanent bond that some find undesirable. In fact, the Skellyds are against any type of bond and consider it a weakness to be destroyed. So, they take a humanoid shape in metallic bodies that are powered by their energy cores and their thoughts are saved in their CPUs. Those thoughts can be voiced through electronic vocal systems, such as speakers or vocal chords made of wiring.

These energy beings are capable of intense hatred, but also a deep love that can define them. Skellyds avoid the part of themselves that allows them to love. Gathons, however, embrace it.

By combining their energy cores, they form a permanent bond with a love on a level so deep that humans have a hard time grasping what it would be like. They become Love. Once that bond is formed, the couple communicates through the bond. Separation becomes painful and one bonded Gathon is usually never too far from the other. The bond strengthens them, but there is a catch that all Skellyds consider the biggest weakness of their kind of all: if one dies, the other dies soon after...

So many wonderful possibilities to explore with the Gathons and Skellyds. I can hardly wait to unleash them into the literary world!

If you're interested in SFR book releases, or science fiction romance in general, check out The Science Fiction Romance Brigade fanpage on Facebook.



Check out the posts of all the other participants. You can also find a list of their names on The SFR Brigade blog spot. They are out of this world!

1. Diane Dooley              15. Imogene Nix                        29. Anna Hackett
2. Kimber Vale                16. Rinelle Grey                        30. Tonya Cannariato
3. Maria Hammarblad     17. Veronica Scott                     31. T.C. Archer
4. Bookswagger              18. Reading Reality                    32. Sabrina Garie
5. C.E. Kilgore                19. Spacefreighters Lounge       33. Kyndra Hatch
6. Liana Brooks               20. Pippa Jay                             34. S.A. Huchton
7. Cathy Pegau                21. Melisse Aires                       35. T.K. Toppin
8. Misa Buckley              22. Pauline Baird Jones             36. Jo Jones
9. Yolanda Sfetsos          23. Sandra C. Stixrude               37. Liza O'Connor
10. Rachel Leigh Smith  24. Monica Enderle Pierce         38. Isabo Kelly
11. Greta van der Rol      25. The Galaxy Express            39. Nina Croft
12. Jessica E. Subject      26. Linda Mooney                     40. Cathryn Cade
13. Diane Burton             27. Aubrie Dionne
14. E.A. Hoornaert          28. A.R. Norris







Now for the prizes!

1st Prize - $150 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner's choice) and an ebook bundle (currently Ghost in the Machine, Bayne, Recast Book 1:Wither, Recast Book 2:Clash, Alien Adoration, Switched, Reckless Rescue, Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Keir, Terms & Conditions Apply, The Key, Marya, The Iron Admiral, Sasha’s Calling, Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush, Winter in Paradise, Once Upon a Time in Space, the Telomere trilogy, Winter Fusion, Blue Nebula, Demential, Wytchfire, Maven, Fires of Justice, Interface, Girl under Glass, and Breakout. Bonus books – Ghost Planet, The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy and Deception, and Games of Command.)

2nd Prize - $50 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner's choice)

3rd Prizes - four $25 Amazon or B&N gift cards (given to separate
winners and their choice)

Enter to win (goes live at 00:01 Pacific Time on June 21st): a Rafflecopter giveaway. Good luck!

A comment is not mandatory for my post, but I'm interested in your thoughts if you'd like to share them. Have fun on the hop!

 

Self-Publishing eBooks: Getting Down To It

This was already included in the previous post. However, there was a pretty large introduction as to how I came upon it all and I figured that there might be people not interested in the backstory of my research. So, this post gets right down to my findings.

This is what I've found out in my preliminary research to self-publishing ebooks. If you are interested in self-publishing your manuscript, this may help to jump start your own research.

AMAZON

Amazon with the Kindle e-reader is the big fish in the sea. Kindle Direct Publishing is a way to get your book out there for free. (Didn't mean to rhyme. *laughs at myself*) You can find their home page here: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin.

They have a wonderful Kindle Publishing Guide that coaches you every step of the way: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help.

They also offer pretty large royalties: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A30F3VI2TH1FR8.

The sad news about Amazon is that they have introduced a program, KDP Select, that allows people to 'borrow' books for free. Many Indie Publishers were doing very well selling books between 0.99 and 2.99. At that price, it's like giving away books for free already and gobs of people hopped on those prices. Now, however, if someone can get a book for free by 'borrowing' it, then why pay? Even if it is only 99 cents.

This new program is concerning. Amazon says the author gets part of a pot of money when people borrow his/her book for free. This would conceivably work, if you are a top selling author. However, I'm not seeing the benefit for new, unknown, authors.

Even though this is scary, there are still a couple of upsides. First of all, in order for readers to borrow books for free through this program, they have to be members of Kindle Prime. Readers get a one month free trial, but after that they have to pay $80 a year and are only allowed to borrow one book a month.

If someone is using the Kindle to buy and read .99-2.99 books, and I'm sure there are people out there who do this, then Kindle Prime will not appeal to them at all.

Since the reader is only allowed to borrow 12 books in one year and has to pay 80 dollars for those 12 books, then the math is in our favor. Kindle Prime members would have to be borrowing books that cost way more than 99 cents in order for that to work out for them. Because of this, it may be that books selling for 0.99-2.99 are safe. I would assume that if someone is paying that much, then that person would be going for books that cost much more than 0.99-2.99 just so that they'd be getting their money's worth in the subscription.

The worst news about KDP Select is that if you choose to be a part of it, then you can't publish your book anywhere else for an allotted amount of time. Again, as a new and unknown author, I don't think this a good option for me. Thank goodness being a part of KDP Select isn't mandatory. You can still publish through KDP and not have to be a part of the Select program.

The second upside to all these new scary things that Amazing is doing is that, while Amazon may be the biggest fish in the sea, it isn't the only fish in the sea.

With that thought, I now introduce Barnes & Noble's publishing platform:

PUBIT!

The PubIt! homepage can be found here: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home.

Through PubIt!, you would be selling your book through the NOOK e-reader. They have similar royalty payments as Amazon. Information on their royalty can be found here: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=support#more_support.
Look under 'Pricing and Payment Terms.' This is also a pretty good support page. It's not as good as Amazon's and it took me awhile to find it, but there it is.

One thing I've noticed Indie authors doing is publishing on both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble platforms. Apple also has their own platform, as well as Kobo.

Apple is complicated and you need a Mac to work through their system. I do not have a Mac, so I didn't look into them any further.

KOBO

The technical requirements for kobo are also a bit daunting, but if you want to give it a try: http://merch.kobobooks.com/help/images/A_Vendors_Guide_to_Kobo.pdf

Kobo is also working on the developement of a self-publishing portal and you can submit your email address for notification of when it will be available: http://www.kobobooks.com/companyinfo/authorsnpublishers.html.
Hopefully when they get that finished, it won't seem as difficult to publish through their system.

AGGREGATION SERVICE PROVIDERS

Not all of the e-reader companies are working together. They each have their own thing and they, understandably, want to make money through their own products. The great thing about being an Indie author is that you can publish through all of them. The only thing they ask is that you not sell your book for less with another e-reader company. In other words, if you sell your book for $2.99 through, say, PubIt!, then you will have to sell your book for $2.99 through all the other e-reader platforms.

There are companies out there that will publish your book through several e-reader platforms at once. Amazon, however, likes to stand on its own, but there are some companies that will distribute to them too.

One suggestion would be to publish through Amazon and then publish through an aggregation service provider in order to get to all the other e-readers. Just remember, don't choose to put your book in KDP Select if you are doing this, because you can only sell through Amazon if you put your book in that program.

It looks like the easiest aggregate is:

SMASHWORDS

Check out their website here: http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords.
They reach Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store, Kobo, and the Diesel eBook store.

Royalties are 60% and they only take 15% of the net each time they sell your book. They have a very good support page with a wealth of information on how to publish through them: http://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq.
They even provide free ISBNs. For information on what an ISBN is, take a look at this page: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp.

Just so you know, you don't have to have an ISBN to publish to the Kindle (Amazon provides its own number for your book, the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN)). So, if you publish through Amazon first, you don't need to worry about acquiring an ISBN before publication. The other systems require ISBNs, however, so going through Smashwords will get you one for free.

As with anything that seems fairly easy, there is a downside to KDP, PubIt!, and Smashwords: You have to format your ebook to fit their platforms. Depending on your skill level and patience, this can be a discouraging task. Each website for each publisher gives directions on how to format your ebook to fit each of their e-readers. It can be a long and arduous part of the self publishing ebook process.

There is a program that can help you in these conversions called Jutoh. This is an ebook editor for $39.00. You can find it here: http://jutoh.com/.

There are numerous individuals that you can hire to do these formats as well. I am not to this point with my own book, however, so I don't know any to recommend. I'm simply sharing what my limited research has turned up. Though, Smashwords does have a list of ebook formatters and cover artists. You can send an email to list@smashwords.com and request "Mark's List."

If you're not up to all that, never fear. There are aggregate providers that will do it for you for a fee, of course.

EBOOKIT

The homepage to eBookit can be found here: http://www.ebookit.com/index.php.
This company charges $149 to convert your book for just about any and all e-readers, including the Kindle. They will even help you with your cover. They seem to have a pretty solid plan and will distribute your book to all the major e-reader platforms. For another fee, they'll even advertise your book for you. You get the most profit if you sell through their store, of course, but even with their take on what you sell through Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc., this might be a low stress way of getting your formatted book out there.

The only worry I have with this company is the fact that they say that updates to your book are billed at "only $49.00 per hour." That seems steep and the 'only' part made me laugh a little. I'm not sure if this means they periodically have to update your book or if all updates are only done if requested by the author. They have a pretty good support page, though, which can be found here: http://www.ebookit.com/thefaqs.

BOOK BABY

This company seems to have a pretty solid plan as well. The home page to book baby can be found here: http://www.bookbaby.com/.

Book Baby's motto is "Self Publishing Made Easy." They will publish your book for as low as $99, which includes all conversions, and will distribute it to Apple's iBookstore, Amazon, Sony Reader Store, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Copia, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, and eBookPie.

This company does not take any commissions at all, but they do have a $19 annual fee.

Here is their pricing list: http://www.bookbaby.com/pricing.

Book baby will help with your cover, with conversions, and will provide an ISBN for an additional $19. Here's how it works: http://www.bookbaby.com/howitworks.

That concludes the extent of my research. I have not tested any of these options myself, but having it all in one place will be helpful for when I get to the publishing stage of my books, if I decide to go the indie route. Hopefully this was helpful for you as well.

I also found this blog post by Henry Baum. It has some helpful information about eBookit and Book Baby and the comments are very helpful too: http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2011/04/ebookit-book-baby-publish-green/.

Happy writing!

The Self-Publishing Option In Today's World

So, we all know about the Indie Revolution and have read many blogs and news articles stating that 2012 is the year of the Indie author. I have read this, at least. Like many others, I am intrigued by the success of Indie authors like Amanda Hocking. I've done a lot of research into the self-publishing option because of all the recent buzz. It turns out that there are numerous other people looking into this option as well.

I'm not usually one to follow the crowd, but in this case, I'm chasing after it. I feel like I'm ten steps behind everyone else, but the good news is that there seems to be room for all of us.

I first looked into self publishing five years ago. I was just getting into writing fan fiction and was becoming pretty popular in that area. It was then that I realized I could write fiction. Traditional publishing scares me to death. All of the restrictions I hear about it, all the changes that can be done to a storyline, seemed too overwhelming to me. So, I decided to look into self publishing just to see what it entailed. Just to keep the record straight and as an addendum here: I don't discount mainstream or traditional publishing by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just scared of it.

Five years ago, around 2007, self publishing wasn't looking like a good option at all. It was expensive. Many companies required you to buy a certain amount of books and you would be left wondering how to market the hard copies. I was reading articles about people selling books from their basements. Storage was quickly becoming the next part of that research and the entire process seemed so cumbersome and, quite frankly, not conducive to profit at all.

The author would be so far in the hole by the time he/she made a deal with one of these companies, spending thousands of dollars, that the author would be spending the life of the book simply trying to pay that money back. That wasn't an acceptable option. At that point, there wasn't anything on the web about publishing through an e-reader, not to mention the stigma of vanity press to begin with, so I quietly snuck away from it and never looked back.

I continued writing fan fiction. I was giving myself away for free, but it was such a rewarding experience that I couldn't stop. I was having so much fun. I got to know people, helped them with their own story lines, gave reviews, and got lots and lots of reviews in return. Those darn reviews were like a drug. I literally couldn't stop writing. I needed that review fix.

Then, around 2009, someone I knew got a publishing deal. I shared with her what I was doing with fan fiction and she blogged about me. Several more reviews came in. I was tickled pink about it.

She later shared a little advice with me: Stop writing fan fiction and start writing my own world. She boosted my confidence by telling me I had talent. Sure, I was getting positive reviews for my fan fiction, which were confidence boosters themselves, but this was a published author telling me I have talent. She even helped me outline a book with an idea that was stuck in my head. Still, though, I was scared. I continued writing, but it was still only fan fiction.

Next thing I know, I get an email from a friend in California who knows all about my writing aspirations. She said very little, encouraging me just to click on a link that she had included. By this time it was early 2011. The article the link led me to was about self publishing sensation Amanda Hocking.

I was in a frenzy to understand how this Amanda Hocking person did this and my Cali friend and I exchanged numerous excited emails discussing it. After all, I had looked into self publishing and it was virtually unattainable. How was this even possible? The article was talking about Indie publishing being so easy and I scoffed at that.

The more I read, though, the more I began to realize that I might have missed something, or that something wasn't there a few years before that was there now. It spoke of the Kindle and Amazon and I decided my research needed a reboot.

The Kindle came out in 2007. I knew of it. I knew other book companies were making and marketing their own e-reading devices. I just wasn't paying attention. I had no idea of the possibilities for unpublished, unproven authors like myself.

Well, I am paying attention now.

I am certain that there must be other people out there with a story similar to mine, scrambling to understand this Indie Revolution with the hopes that they can become a part of it. Perhaps what I have learned in my research will help someone to get the ball rolling. Perhaps everyone already knows all this stuff. I'm behind the power curve, as usual. However, I can't be the only beginner and we all have to start somewhere. If this post helps even just one person, then it is worth it to share.

AMAZON

Amazon with the Kindle e-reader is the big fish in the sea. Kindle Direct Publishing is a way to get your book out there for free. They have a great publishing platform. You can find their home page here: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin.

They have a wonderful Kindle Publishing Guide that coaches you every step of the way: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help.

They also offer pretty large royalties: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A30F3VI2TH1FR8.

The sad news about Amazon is that they have introduced a program, KDP Select, that allows people to 'borrow' books for free. Many Indie Publishers were doing very well selling books between 0.99 and 2.99. At that price, it's like giving away books for free already and gobs of people hopped on those prices. Now, however, if someone can get a book for free by 'borrowing' it, then why pay? Even if it is only 99 cents.

This new program is concerning. Amazon says the author gets part of a pot of money when people borrow his/her book for free. This would conceivably work, if you are a top selling author. However, I'm not seeing the benefit for new, unknown, authors.

Even though this is scary, there are still a couple of upsides. First of all, in order for readers to borrow books for free through this program, they have to be members of Kindle Prime. Readers get a one month free trial, but after that they have to pay $80 a year and are only allowed to borrow one book a month.

If someone is using the Kindle to buy and read 99 cent books, and I'm sure there are people out there who do this, then Kindle Prime will not appeal to them at all.

Since the reader is only allowed to borrow 12 books in one year and has to pay 80 dollars for those 12 books, then the math is in our favor. Kindle Prime members would have to be borrowing books that cost way more than 99 cents in order for that to work out for them. Because of this, it may be that books selling for 0.99-2.99 are safe. I would assume that if someone is paying that much, then that person would be going for books that cost much more than 0.99-2.99 just so that they'd be getting their money's worth in the subscription.

The worst news about KDP Select is that if you choose to be a part of it, then you can't publish your book anywhere else for an allotted amount of time. For this reason alone, I will never use this 'service.' Thank goodness being a part of KDP Select isn't mandatory. You can still publish through KDP and not have to be a part of the Select program.

The second upside to all these new scary things that Amazing is doing is that, while Amazon may be the biggest fish in the sea, it isn't the only fish in the sea.

With that thought, I now introduce Barnes & Noble's publishing platform:

PUBIT!

The PubIt! homepage can be found here: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home.

Through PubIt!, you would be selling your book through the NOOK e-reader. They have similar royalty payments as Amazon. Information on their royalty can be found here: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=support#more_support. Look under 'Pricing and Payment Terms.' This is also a pretty good support page. It's not as good as Amazon's and it took me awhile to find it, but there it is.

One thing I've noticed Indie authors doing is publishing on both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble platforms. Apple also has their own platform, as well as Kobo.

Apple is complicated and you need a Mac to work through their system. I do not have a Mac, so I didn't look into them any further.

KOBO

The technical requirements for kobo are also a bit daunting, but if you want to give it a try: http://merch.kobobooks.com/help/images/A_Vendors_Guide_to_Kobo.pdf

Kobo is also working on the developement of a self-publishing portal and you can submit your email address for notification of when it will be available: http://www.kobobooks.com/companyinfo/authorsnpublishers.html.
Hopefully when they get that finished, it won't be as difficult to publish through their system.

AGGREGATION SERVICE PROVIDERS

Not all of the e-reader companies are working together. They each have their own thing and they, understandably, want to make money through their own products. The great thing about being an Indie author is that you can publish through all of them. The only thing they ask is that you not sell your book for less with another e-reader company. In other words, if you sell your book for $2.99 through, say, PubIt!, then you will have to sell your book for $2.99 through all the other e-reader platforms.

There are companies out there that will publish your book through several e-reader platforms at once. Amazon, however, likes to stand on its own, but there are some companies that will distribute to them too.

One suggestion would be to publish through Amazon and then publish through an aggregation service provider in order to get to all the other e-readers. Just remember, don't choose to put your book in KDP Select if you are doing this, because you can only sell through Amazon if you put your book in that program.

It looks like the easiest aggregate is:

SMASHWORDS

Check out their website here: http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords. They reach Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store, Kobo, and the Diesel eBook store.

Royalties are 60% and they only take 15% of the net each time they sell your book. They have a very good support page with a wealth of information on how to publish through them: http://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq. They even provide free ISBNs. For information on what an ISBN is, take a look at this page: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp.

As with anything that seems fairly easy, there is a downside to KDP, PubIt!, and Smashwords: You have to format your ebook to fit their platforms. Depending on your skill level and patience, this can be a discouraging task. Each website for each publisher gives directions on how to format your ebook to fit each of their e-readers. It can be a long and arduous part of the self publishing ebook process.

There is a program that can help you in these conversions called Jutoh. This is an ebook editor for $39.00. You can find it here: http://jutoh.com/.

There are numerous individuals that you can hire to do these formats as well. I am not to this point with my own book, however, so I don't know any to recommend. I'm simply sharing what my limited research has turned up.

If you're not up to it, never fear. There are aggregate providers that will do it for you for a fee, of course.

EBOOKIT

The homepage to eBookit can be found here: http://www.ebookit.com/index.php.
This company charges $149 to convert your book for just about any and all e-readers, including the Kindle. They will even help you with your cover. They seem to have a pretty solid plan and will distribute your book to all the major e-reader platforms. For another fee, they'll even advertise your book for you. You get the most profit if you sell through their store, of course, but even with their take on what you sell through Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc., this might be a low stress way of getting your formatted book out there.

The only worry I have with this company is the fact that they say that updates to your book are billed at "only $49.00 per hour." That seems steep and the 'only' part made me laugh a little. I'm not sure if this means they periodically have to update your book or if all updates are only done if requested by the author. They have a pretty good support page, though, which can be found here: http://www.ebookit.com/thefaqs.

BOOK BABY

This company seems to have a pretty solid plan as well. The home page to book baby can be found here: http://www.bookbaby.com/.

Book Baby's motto is "Self Publishing Made Easy." They will publish your book for as low as $99, which includes all conversions, and will distribute it to Apple's iBookstore, Amazon, Sony Reader Store, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Copia, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, and eBookPie.

This company does not take any commissions at all, but they do have a $19 annual fee.

Here is their pricing list: http://www.bookbaby.com/pricing.

Book baby will help with your cover, with conversions, and will provide an ISBN for an additional $19. Here's how it works: http://www.bookbaby.com/howitworks.

That concludes the extent of my research. I have not tested any of these options myself, but having it all in one place will be helpful for when I get to the publishing stage of my books. Hopefully this was helpful for you as well.

I also found this blog post by Henry Baum. It has some helpful information about eBookit and book baby and the comments are very helpful too: http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2011/04/ebookit-book-baby-publish-green/.

Let us all now go and help make the prediction for 2012 true. Perhaps this really will be 'The Year of the Indie Author.'

Happy writing!

Procrastinating Central

I can't believe I've nearly had this blog for a year now. And have I done anything to move myself forward to getting published? The short answer is 'No.'

Has anyone seen that Simpsons episode where Lisa Simpson is trying to write a book? She keeps finding other things that she feels she ought to be doing first, or she finds things that generally distract her in every way from writing even one sentence. That is exactly how it is for me! My husband and I got a good laugh out of that episode.

On one hand, I got a job last April that kept me employed and super busy for 9 whole months. I'm terrible in that I didn't even blog much during that time. If I wasn't writing my books, I certainly wasn't writing in my blog either. *sigh*

On the other hand, I'm scared. I spend a lot of time looking at people who are successful and trying to see what they do. There is a huge emphasis on social sites on the web and, for some reason, I've never been good at that. I get very few followers on every social site I join. Perhaps that has to do with my lack of updating? Oh yes, I'm sure that has something to do with it, LOL. Perhaps I should make a concerted effort to update my blog and send out at least one tweet a day.

I have a facebook account, but it's under my cat's name. I need to make one for my Kyndra Hatch penname. I've always been curious, though. Has anyone figured out the difference between facebook and twitter? It just seems I'd be writing the same stuff on facebook as I do (or should be doing) on twitter.

I'm getting off track from the subject of being scared, though. Anyway, I keep going over my book ideas and the events they contain and psyching myself out that no one would be interested. I'm not sure how to shake this feeling. I have to, though, or I'll never know if people are truly interested or not.

I think a lot of authors feel this way. It's a scary prospect, getting a first book out there. There are so many unknowns and we, as humans, are afraid of the unknown.

There is also the fact that I want to use my fanfiction plot for my original work. I've created my own world, taken everything out that isn't universal, taken the obvious copyrighted stuff out. It was a Transformers fanfiction, so basically I've taken the Transformers universe out of it. What I'm left with is the plot that has always been my own. I really like this plot and I'm having loads of fun playing with it now that it is in my own world. I'm not restricted by it being fanfiction anymore and it's amazing how it has changed and evolved.

Am I even allowed to do this, though? I've asked a lawyer and he said it would be fine. An editor friend of mine in Canada has been encouraging me to write it as my own original work for a couple years now. However, I'm still uncertain.

Another unknown with it is that the first book has an event that might be too tragic for many readers. I've tried to get around it, but that part of the plot hasn't changed, especially since it drives the entire storyline. Everything works out for everyone by the end of the series, but getting through and past that first book might kill it before it even gets started. It was received well in the fanfiction version, though...

I'm psyching myself out again, aren't I? My husband keeps telling me to write my book however I want to write it. The first thing I need is a manuscript...and then I go from there. One step at a time and quit psyching myself out.

Basically, it's procrastinating central over here and I need to quit finding reasons to procrastinate. LOL!

Transformers 4...Transformers 4?!

I posted these thoughts on my dA page earlier and thought I'd go ahead and post them here too. It's been awhile since I've posted anything on my blog. I've been so busy with Archaeology that I haven't had much time to keep up with other things. But, this has to do with my writing, or motivation for it, so I thought it would be appropriate to post here too. =D

Okay, so this is my initial reaction upon hearing the rumor that  may be  more official than anything so far...It appears this is going to happen as soon as they can get Michael Bay to say 'yes' and he seems to have admitted that he's not saying 'no,' though he hasn't said 'yes' yet either.

Whatever...

Here is my initial opinion of this, whether it happens or not:

I love love LOVE Transformers. It's a fantastic concept full of amazing storylines, some not so amazing, but for the most part amazing. It has jumpstarted my imagination like nothing else has been able to.

For instance, I was intrigued by Star Wars. Who isn't? But, I mean, I was obsessed with Star Wars, truly obsessed. I have a Star Wars room in my house that is nothing but Star Wars. I have collected it; I have read just about every book and comic that has to do with it, saw every movie, gone to conventions dressed as a Jedi, made lightsabers...you get the idea. I was OBSESSED.

Then, somewhere along the way, something happened to it...The prequels were lacking. Things started getting introduced that didn't make sense. I started losing faith in it.

Then the live-action Transformers came along. Oh. My. Gawd...

I grew up with Transformers. I watched all the cartoons. It was cool. I wasn't into it as much as I was into Star Wars, but it was very cool. The toys are the all-time best toys that have ever been produced with any cartoon or movie. I always liked them and I wanted an Optimus Prime toy so bad. I kept asking for one for Christmas, but my nephew got him instead...something about me being a girl and that I can't have boy toys. So, I got to watch my brothers and nephews get the cool Star Wars and Transformers toys, but didn't get to have any for myself. For anyone who has seen my toy collections, you know I've made up for that lack.

At any rate, the Transformers were not as real to me as Star Wars was until the live-action movie came out in 2007. It blew my mind, it really did. There are two cinema experiences I've had in my life that have made an impact on me more than anything...Tron in 1982 and Transformers in 2007. Even Star Wars didn't top those experiences. Then something else happened... I was inspired to write fiction.

I'm a writer and have written and published many things pertaining to my work and travels, but I never thought I could realize a dream to publish fiction until I started writing Transformers fanfiction. It sounds silly, but it wasn't until I started writing "Night Fire" that I realized that I could actually do it. I can be an author...I am already a writer. Holy cow!

I am now currently working on a story for publication and guess what started that? Transformers! Never in a million years would this have happened if it weren't for Transformers. That first movie in 2007 started it all for me and I am so excited I can't stand it!

I wasn't sure what to think about the second movie, but once I stopped looking at it as a writer, I find I enjoy it more now. It's mindless entertainment and it's good for that. Plus, I just love to watch the CGI Transformers move and it's fascinating how real they've made them seem.

The third movie came as more of a shock. There is so much about it that I like, but I find I can't actually watch it. They made us want to see Mikaela and Sam succeed as a couple, yet because of something the actress said, they got rid of her and put another character in her place (which was barely even rewritten to explain and they simply kept the same stuff that was supposed to be for the Mikaela character and just changed the girlfriend's name). I was very surprised by how much that affected me. I didn't think I'd care, but all the 'together forever' stuff didn't actually make sense unless it was Mikaela since they showed everything she had gone through for Sam in the first and second movies. I was surprisingly disappointed in not having that wonderful closure with the Mikaela character.

Then there is the character of Ironhide, who has been my focus in my fanfiction and has inspired my own main character in my original work. I spend too much time thinking he didn't really need to die that I can't enjoy the movie. I think this is the reaction that my fanfiction readers expected I'd have, but I didn't put much stock to his death until much much later. Truly, I knew he was going to die. He dies in everything; it was inevitable. But, I guess I got too emotionally attached. I can admit that now. It's kinda weird to be so attached to a fictional character and affected so much by what happens to him.

Having said that, I can't possibly be as upset as Decepticon fans because, well, they killed ALL of those characters in the third movie. It simply seems so final and done that I feel it should be. It should be done. Over. No more.

Having said that, I'm not saying I don't want to see any more Transformers movies coming out. I adore Transformers Prime cartoon and I'd support anything new coming out with Transformers. That is what I feel they should do with the movies...Something new. A reboot. The Bay movies were what they were. The first one inspired me and allowed me to realize my dream as an author. I will not forget that. However, that story is over. It's time for a new one. They reboot the cartoons all the time, so why not the movies?

What I'm saying here is that even though I was as obsessed with Star Wars as I was, I wasn't inspired to realize my dream. The live-action Transformers movies did that for me very unexpectedly. But, like Star Wars went downhill and lost a hoard of fans, Transformers is in danger of doing the same thing. Star Wars is an icon and will probably never die no matter what they do. Transformers is an icon too, but the fanbase seems a little more fragile. It would be sad for them to kill the Transformers fanbase and I'm afraid that's what they might end up doing.

There is a lot of disappointment with the second and third Transformers movies...a fourth one could be the nail in the coffin. At this point, I feel a remake is needed.

Just to make this clear, it's not Michael Bay that I take issue with. He has proven he can do this well. He was the director for the first movie after all, which is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time. The writer strike threw off the second movie, and you can even tell in the movie that there are several writers who didn't necessarily share their thoughts of where it was going. The third movie was written well, but they made so much about the storyline so final that it was over. It was supposed to be over, you could tell that. It should be over. So, if they want to do a remake and have Michael Bay direct it, then that'd be fine by me as long as it's a whole new storyline.

So, that's my initial reaction and my initial thoughts on hearing a rumor that might actually be real this time. I haven't paid any attention to all the other rumors up until now. However, Paramount knows when they have a cash cow, so it's most likely inevitable that another Transformers come out. I just hope they realize it can be redone and still have just as much of a following, if not more.

Do it right, take the time to make it good in every way, and it will forever be a part of our very culture.

The Question of What A Reader Can Handle

What is too much for the reader to handle?

This is my main question in writing, because I can write some tragic stuff. In romance, one rule remains steadfast...and that rule is that the characters have to live and be together in the end. However, anything can pretty much happen to them in between, and what happens to people or beings they know seems to be fair game. But, what would be considered too much? What can a reader handle reading about? What would be too tragic? What is too real? What hits home too much?

I do not want to turn a reader away by having something that is too hard to handle in my work, yet I also don't want to limit myself. So much good can come out of a tragic situation and that's what I love writing about the most.

A little over a year ago, when we lived in the same area, a friend of mine (who has a couple of published books, actually) helped me outline a book. There was an element in it that she said I should remove, stating that many readers wouldn't want to read what it entailed. I was so bummed by the prospect of having to remove it that I didn't continue with the story.

However, I had a situation with my main characters in another story that I sent to a friend in California. After reading it, she sent to me that she couldn't continue with her day. I was convinced that I should scrap that as well. Then, a couple days later, I received another email from her telling me that I shouldn't change anything at all. She thought I should keep the situation as it was. She said that it stirred so much emotion in her that she was speechless...and that that is what good writing is all about.

Yet, as I get closer to writing something for publication, I find that I'm at an impasse. I could go with a tamer situation that wouldn't 'traumatize' people, but I feel like that would be limiting myself from my strongest style of writing and plot.

The Question of Inadvertent Advertisement or Trademarks

As I looked this up, it seems that this is the question of many authors: What do you do about words that may be trademarked or words that may be accidentally advertising something?

I did not even realize this could be a problem. I sent the rough rough rough rough draft of chapter 2 of my book to a friend I talk with over MSN. She pointed out my use of specific vehicles within the text. For example: 'Ford Explorer' or 'Toyota 4Runner.'

At first, she said I should change these to SUV or truck or car, etc., but by the end of the chapter she realized it was important to the story to keep the specific makes and models. At that point, we were both stumped as to how to proceed.

I tried looking it up and found words like 'Kleenex' should be 'tissue' while writing and stuff like that, but I didn't find anything pertaining to something like a vehicle make and model. One site I ran across seemed to think it was okay to use a title like that, as long as it is kept true to form of the trademark. For example: 'Ford 4Runner' could never be used, because Ford doesn't make the 4Runner, Toyota does. So, according to that site, it would be okay to use 'Ford Explorer' as long as it's a Ford Explorer in the book and not something make believe that isn't a Ford Explorer while calling it a Ford Explorer.

After reading through all that, I realized I was on someone's blog. So, it wasn't a fact but an opinion that it was okay to use words/titles like that.

My own opinion on the matter would be that it should be okay, since it is kind of like free advertising. However, I also understand how someone could get upset if their trademark was used in a way they wouldn't want it to be represented. It's turning into a difficult question, one I don't have the answer for.

I also remember reading a bunch of stuff that Amanda Hocking uses and doesn't seem to worry...such as the words 'Jim Henson's Muppets' or specific movie titles within the text, etc.

I'm moving forward as if it's okay to use a specific vehicle type, but does anyone know more about what the rules are on this kind of thing?