I don’t do this as often as I should (read other people’s books on self-publishing). It’s not because I don’t think they have good things to offer. Mainly it’s the result of a reasoning and a fact. First, I don’t want to accidentally plagiarize someone while writing. So, I tend to keep others’ writing out of the memory banks. Second, most non-fiction on book publishing is far too expensive for my little budget. But I picked up a copy … Continue reading →
Back to scratching mud Aaron Shepherd is convinced that this is true. The .kfx (which Aaron believes stands for .kf10) is a post-uploading process done to your books over the first month or two after uploading. What it means as far as he is concerned is this: In practical terms, this means there is no longer any effective way to proof your book before or after publication. You can get it looking absolutely perfect in a KDP proof, and … Continue reading →
A continuation of the Kindle formatting issues On one of the Facebook groups I participate in, there’s been some general poo-pahing over my most recent posting on the problems with Kindle formatting. I can understand it because many in that group only upload very simple novels. But the problem may be worse than I thought. So, I thought I better give some samples. In the process I found that Kindle has indeed destroyed the Kindle version of this … Continue reading →
Aaron Shephard is close to giving up in Kindle. [You may need to search as I could not find a post-specific link.] He’s found evidence that Amazon might, and probably will, destroy your formatting well after it has been published. As you can read below about the new KFX format, Amazon simply does that to your book. It’s out of our control and we have been given no tools to produce KFX files. I suspected all of this, … Continue reading →
Aaron Shephard gives us an interesting post today about a new category of books designed to use Kindle Unlimited to rip off readers’ minds. A post on spam books I’m not surprised, nor concerned. But for your edification, it’s happening. It’s a natural outgrowth of the marketing mentality which puts sales above everything. What do you think? I don’t think it really matters, unless I accidently buy one of these pieces of junk.
Continue reading →Get off your lazy butt—it’s a jungle out there! The only way to beat the leader is to be better at what the leader does. I was reading yet another excellent article this morning from Mike Shatzkin about the current state of affairs in traditional publishing. He makes good points, which also apply to indies and self-publishers. We need to keep our head in the game. Amazon earned their place in publishing They are dominant in ebooks, not … Continue reading →
Another incremental release? Of course… But that’s to be expected. The whole paradigm of the subscription model is that the applications keep getting better and you get an automatic update as soon as it is released. There’s been a huge amount of work put into InDesign CC (2015), but most of it does not apply to us: producers of the artwork published as books in print and as ebooks. However, one of the new abilities is very helpful. It … Continue reading →
I read another interesting intro to an article to which I’m not subscribed about the possible excellent future for B&N. Smelly ears, by the way, is an old term for an entity with its head so far up its you know what that the ears stink. B&N is finally going to separate its college stores from the Nook and brick & mortar operation. Again it mentions the disastrous Nook. There’s a very simple solution. Provide the brick & … Continue reading →
There’s a supposedly new player today: Gatekeeper Press I know very little about them—just heard about them. But, it’s an interesting concept. As you know, I am basically against paying publishers anything without a very good reason. My books teach you how to publish for free, and I still think that’s the best route to go—IF you are willing and IF you are able. So, why do I mention Gateway Press? This just seems like another competitor … Continue reading →
As I mentioned a while ago, I made textbook versions of my two best sellers: Practical Font Design and Writing in InDesign. The process was very simple and easy. I just uploaded the PDF I had developed for download. It had a bit of color added, but it is basically the print version slightly optimized for viewing on-screen. The conversion was very fast and seemingly flawless. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, it’s just a wrapped PDF so far, with … Continue reading →