tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31471705342478814982017-08-15T19:36:07.092-04:00Adrian StaccatoAdrian Staccatonoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-82354045947386273982014-06-17T01:58:00.000-04:002014-06-17T01:58:31.033-04:00KDP Select Promo and Imitators (It was bound to happen sooner or later!)It's been nearly a year since my last post. Truth is, I haven't been doing much to promote my work these days (although there will be a KDP select promo for Text Me, Guido today till Saturday). I've been focussing my efforts on writing two novels that I plan to have published through traditional means. Why have I given up on self-publishing? I guess I will save that explanation for another post. I just wanted to comment on something I noticed recently.<br /><br />Here's a book that was published on May 30, 2014:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Text-Me-Love-Eli-Shulga-ebook/dp/B00KOWOMOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1402984382&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=text+me+love" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Text-Me-Love-Eli-Shulga-ebook/dp/B00KOWOMOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1402984382&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=text+me+love</a><br /><br />Sound familiar? Even the cover page is the same concept as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Text-Me-Guido-Adrian-Staccato-ebook/dp/B008MMX56Y/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;sr=1-1&amp;qid=1402983831" target="_blank">Text Me, Guido</a>. Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I wish Eli Shulga the best of luck with his book, and maybe he will have more luck than I've had.Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-78490186988499831212013-06-30T16:55:00.001-04:002013-06-30T16:55:27.150-04:00Watch for Pirated Versions of your Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdwbyo2Ctt0/UdCVOlU7hgI/AAAAAAAAAMM/jfC2ZWFchgI/s202/logopdfbook.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdwbyo2Ctt0/UdCVOlU7hgI/AAAAAAAAAMM/jfC2ZWFchgI/s202/logopdfbook.png" /></a></div>I first published <i>Text Me, Guido</i> through the KDP Select program last July, and as early as September (after a promo) I started noticing a pirated version of the book appearing on the web.<br /><br />At first I was flattered. Someone thought my book was worth pirating! But after some thought, I became angry. It's one thing to pirate a copy of J.K. Rowling's latest book (she's a billionaire, I'm sure she can handle it), but little old me? My books are priced at $0.99 and I barely make peanuts!<br /><br />What's more, the pirates converted it to other formats like epub and nook. I downloaded a few copies just to see how it functioned, and to my horror, it was awful: poorly formatted and not at all indicative of the quality of a legit copy.<br /><br />The easiest way to find out if your book is being pirated is to google the title. Pirate websites will show up near the top. The biggest offenders are sites like <a href="http://pdfbook.co.ke/">pdfbook.co.ke</a> and <a href="http://ebookee.org/">ebookee.org</a>. The good news is, most of these pirate sites have a copyright policy. You can notify them of your copyright ownership, and they will remove the links. However, when notifying these sites of a copyright violation, you need to use very specific wording, or your inquiry will be ignored. Here's what I had to write before anyone started listening to me:<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: Text Me, Guido</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Author: Adrian Staccato</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Link: (Direct link to pirated book)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I&nbsp;am the legal&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="il" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">copyright</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;o</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">wner of the novel 'Text Me, Guido' by Adrian Staccato.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">complained of is not authorized by me (the&nbsp;</span></span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">copyright</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;owner) or the law. &nbsp;The&nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury,&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Please remove this link&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">immediately.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Please feel free to contact me if necessary,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Address and contact number</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>You need to be vigilant about this. Sometimes, they won't take down the links, even if they said they would, and other times they'll just ignore your inquiry. I've had to email a few sites more than once before they actually followed through and removed the links.<br /><div><br /></div><br /><br />Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-26150550738159408332013-05-24T23:21:00.000-04:002013-05-24T23:21:21.271-04:00Helpful Site for Promoting your Kindle Select Free Days!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ebookbooster.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3wyXjQGm8zw/UaAq0gDuJZI/AAAAAAAAALo/F4ru0sMSmrY/s1600/newebookboosterlogo.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>If you're planning a Kindle Select Promo any time soon, you might want to check out this great website I've recently discovered. It's been around for a while, so you may already be familiar with it, in which case, feel free to ignore this post.<br /><br />It's called <a href="http://ebookbooster.com/">ebookbooster.com</a>. Don't be turned off when you see dollar signs on the page; they offer to submit information about your ebook promo to 45+ sites for $40, but this is only for the lazy amongst us. You can do it yourself manually (and for free) by using the list of websites they provide in the left sidebar. All the sites are listed (45+) and as an added bonus, they link you directly to the book submission page, so you don't have to waste any time navigating through each site.<br /><br />Very helpful indeed!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-21402847665023385342013-04-15T00:36:00.000-04:002013-04-15T00:36:29.633-04:00How To Publish a Paperback Using Createspace <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SO2Zrt0S54/UWtcsKRyaCI/AAAAAAAAAKE/cWs196iAywI/s1600/logo-csp-no-tm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2SO2Zrt0S54/UWtcsKRyaCI/AAAAAAAAAKE/cWs196iAywI/s1600/logo-csp-no-tm.png" /></a></div>With the e-book market booming, many self-publishers are inevitably faced with the question of whether or not to invest in a paperback.<br /><br />If you're new to the publishing game, it's understandable why you might be apprehensive: it's far more likely that readers will pay for your $0.99 e-book compared to your $9.50 paperback, especially if you've yet to establish yourself.<br /><br />However, there are many <a href="http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6399" target="_blank">good&nbsp;reasons</a> to have a paperback available, even if they might not sell as well as your e-books. Here are a few:<br /><br />- 80% of all books sold are paperbacks.<br /><br />- Readers like deals. If they see you have a $9.50 paperback available and a $0.99 e-book, they might be more inclined to buy your e-book based on that huge discount.<br /><br />- They're cheaper than you think.<br /><br />- They're EASY to produce, so you have no excuse!<br /><br />This past February I took the plunge and published my first <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Text-Me-Guido-Adrian-Staccato/dp/1481817221/" target="_blank">paperback</a>, and Createspace made it so easy and streamlined that I cannot recommend it enough!<br /><br />This post will go through the basic process of using Createspace to publish your own paperback.<br /><br />Let's get to it, shall we?<br /><br />1) First, go to the <a href="https://www.createspace.com/" target="_blank">Createspace</a> website and register an account. It's as easy as it sounds.<br /><br />2) Once you've made an account and logged in, Createspace will ask you what you want to publish, select book, and fill in the title information. This part is really straight forward, so I won't go into detail. Just follow the instructions.<br /><br />3) Next, you'll be asked about an ISBN:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RK43AoOisS0/UWti9IVpKaI/AAAAAAAAAKc/U72dZ9w5hMw/s1600/createspace+isbn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RK43AoOisS0/UWti9IVpKaI/AAAAAAAAAKc/U72dZ9w5hMw/s320/createspace+isbn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I selected the Free Createspace Assigned ISBN. As the name implies, it's free, and Createspace assigns it for you, so it doesn't involve any work on your end. HOWEVER, there is a catch: this ISBN is only valid through Amazon and Createspace channels. That means if you wish to sell your paperback elsewhere (in stores, Barnes &amp; Noble, etc.) you will need to purchase your own ISBN and select the second option.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />4) Next, you'll be asked to format the interior of your book:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8YK-frfQVo/UWty846UTjI/AAAAAAAAAKs/wYIFd5bWAcU/s1600/createspace+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8YK-frfQVo/UWty846UTjI/AAAAAAAAAKs/wYIFd5bWAcU/s320/createspace+interior.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Select Black &amp; White (unless your book requires color, in which case, it will be more expensive to produce).<br /><br />For Page Color, I selected White. Some people prefer Cream, but this is a more expensive option, and I really don't think it's worth it, in my opinion.<br /><br />Next, choose a trim size. I selected the default 6" X 9". Createspace recommends this size as it is the most popular, but by all means, select whatever size you prefer. Next, click to download a Word Template. I recommend downloading a formatted template and replacing all the words with your book's text. &nbsp;Keep the text and formatting exactly as is to avoid any possible formatting issues when it comes time to proofread your book. That means keeping the font at Garamond 11. This worked perfectly for me and when I ordered the proof, no changes were required.<br /><br />Once you've placed all your text into the formatted file, and re-read it a healthy number of times, upload it.<br /><br />5) The only tricky part of this whole process is designing your cover. Createspace provides three options: 1) Build your cover using the Cover Creator, 2) Professional Cover Design, and 3) Upload a Print-Ready PDF Cover. Avoid Option 2), since Createspace charges the ridiculous fee of $399, and, assuming you've already published an e-book, you probably already have a cover designed.<br /><br />Option 3) is more complicated than it sounds because it requires you to not only have your cover in PDF format, but to also format the spine and back cover, and these require exact measurements. I chose Option 1) which is by far the easiest method (if you follow these instructions). Launch the Cover Creator and you'll be provided with a bunch of possible templates:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pb2q1maTZBI/UWt6LvIDOCI/AAAAAAAAALI/X1J7716Jt6M/s1600/createspace+cover+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pb2q1maTZBI/UWt6LvIDOCI/AAAAAAAAALI/X1J7716Jt6M/s320/createspace+cover+design.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Go to page 5 of 5 and select "The Spruce 6 X 9 Spineless". This template makes things easy because all you need to do is upload your cover image and input the back cover text (If you want your back cover to have an image as well, then select "The Palm 6 X 9 Spineless" or "The Pine 6 X 9 Spineless" &nbsp;on page 4 of 5).<br /><br />Keep in mind that your cover image should have a size of 6.25" X 9.5" and that no text should appear within 0.5" of the outer edges. The resolution should be at least 300 DPI. If you need to tweak your cover image to meet these configurations, I recommend using an image editor such as <a href="http://www.gimp.org/" target="_blank">GIMP</a>.<br /><br />6) Once your cover is ready, all that's left to do is Complete Setup. Here, you can review everything you've submitted and confirm its quality. Once confirmed, Createspace will get back to you within a day to let you know your proof is ready to order. But before you order your proof, go over your book one more time with the virtual previewer. If everything is perfect, go ahead and order. If you've followed these instructions to a tee, this should be the only stage in which you are required to pay a fee. But don't worry, it's very cheap. In my case, it only came to $11.63, and it would have been even cheaper had I not required shipping to Canada.<br /><br />7) Once you receive your proof in the mail, go over it with a fine tooth comb. If everything is satisfactory, approve your book for distribution. Within 5-7 business days, your book will be available on the Amazon website. As long as the title is the same as the original e-book title, it should appear for sale on the same page as your e-book.<br /><br />It's really that simple, folks!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-13755479763981319602013-03-04T21:29:00.000-05:002013-03-04T21:29:23.669-05:00Facebook Ads: Do They Work?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wN5l3MXV4hM/UTVDOqTEZ7I/AAAAAAAAAJk/sQemPHaIc-c/s1600/facebook+ads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wN5l3MXV4hM/UTVDOqTEZ7I/AAAAAAAAAJk/sQemPHaIc-c/s1600/facebook+ads.jpg" /></a></div>The short answer: No. They don't. And although this sentiment has been echoed by authors everywhere (a quick google search can attest to that), I was under the naive (and overly optimistic) impression that I could do better. That, somehow, despite the warnings from authors far wiser than myself, I could accomplish what they couldn't: I could make facebook ads work. And by all means, if you're as stubborn as I am, give it a shot. But believe me when I tell you, they are an exercise in futility.<br /><br />One of the "advantages" of facebook ads is that you can target a specific group of people who may be part of your book's intended demographic. For example, in my case, I chose to target individuals who live in Canada and the US, who are 30 years old or younger, and who "like" Jersey Shore. I set my budget at $50 a day and paid $0.54 per click.<br /><br />Have a look at my stats (click to enlarge):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ur1qoNIP30/UTVFz1eoPhI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/jtXd8Sd3zoc/s1600/ad+campaign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ur1qoNIP30/UTVFz1eoPhI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/jtXd8Sd3zoc/s400/ad+campaign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>68,280 unique individuals saw the ad an average of 6.5 times each. 114 people clicked on the ad on the day I had it running. Unfortunately, this only yielded a grand total of 1 sale, and it wasn't even for the book I was advertising, but my short story, so I can't say for certain if that sale was the result of my ad campaign.<br /><br />You may be wondering why I paid $51.23 if my daily budget was $50. Well, it caught me by surprise as well. I was under the impression that facebook considers a "day" to be 24 hours since the ad first started running. I was wrong. For facebook, a day ends at midnight, regardless of when you started your campaign. For example, if you set your daily budget to $50 and start your campaign at 11 PM, that budget only applies for the one hour until midnight, and then resets to zero for the next "day". Luckily I caught on and stopped the campaign before they could rob me of another $50.<br /><br />Don't waste your money.Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-63258640483164283902013-03-01T00:00:00.000-05:002013-03-01T00:00:14.811-05:00Goodreads Giveaways: Do They Work?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu5ao6fw8ks/UTAvgVm5DFI/AAAAAAAAAJU/-nVpgSlS1Zw/s1600/text+me+guido+paperback+cover3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu5ao6fw8ks/UTAvgVm5DFI/AAAAAAAAAJU/-nVpgSlS1Zw/s320/text+me+guido+paperback+cover3.JPG" width="210" /></a></div>Goodreads Giveaways are one option for authors looking to promote their work. They're free, and provide exposure to potentially millions of Goodreads visitors. All you need is a print edition of your book (ebooks are not allowed).<br /><br />Given that I recently released a paperback of <i>Text Me, Guido</i>, I decided to give it a shot.<br /><br />Make sure that if you decide to run one, you schedule it a few days in advance since they can take up to 3 days to be approved. I scheduled mine a week in advance for Feb. 18-Feb. 20 (little did I know that when Goodreads says the giveaway will end on Feb. 20th at 12:00 AM, they mean the <b>start</b> of the day on Feb. 20th...so my giveaway ended up being only two days long).<br /><br />In those 2 days, 379 people entered the giveaway, and approximately 175 people added the book to their "to be read" list. Whether these people will actually end up buying the book remains to be seen.<br /><br />Did it generate any actual sales? Not really. During the giveaway I had 1 sale, and 2 sales soon after it ended (plus an additional 2 sales of my short story <i>Fifty Shades of Azzurri</i>). So I didn't exactly light the world on fire. I did, however, receive a 5-star review on Amazon shortly after the giveaway ended (but I can't say for certain this review came from someone who bought my book because of the giveaway).<br /><br />The moral of the story? If you're goal is to increase the number of readers who have your book on their "to be read" list, then giveaways work wonders, but don't expect your sales to take off. I acknowledge that 2 days is a pretty short period, so you might have more success if you increase the length of the giveaway (something I plan on trying in the future).Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-91079307865607824202013-02-18T13:13:00.000-05:002013-02-18T13:13:29.677-05:00Goodreads Giveaway!To celebrate the release of <i>Text Me, Guido</i> in paperback, I am giving away one autographed copy on Goodreads. The Giveaway is from Feb. 18th (today) to Feb. 20th. Please ENTER!<br /><br />I will be writing an update to this post in the future, where I will discuss the effectiveness of the Giveaway. Also, look forward to a post on how to use Createspace, and another on the utility of Facebook advertisements (here's a hint: they're not very useful).<br /><div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget44884"><!-- Show static html as a placeholder in case js is not enabled --> <div class="goodreadsGiveawayWidget" style="border-radius: 10px; border: 2px solid #EBE8D5; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 350px; padding: 10px 15px;"><style> .goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_button4_hover.gif); color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; } </style> <br /><h2 style="color: #555555; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0 0 10px !important; padding: 0 !important; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book Giveaway </h2><div style="float: left;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17344453"><img alt="Text Me, Guido by Adrian Staccato" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360463175l/17344453.jpg" title="Text Me, Guido by Adrian Staccato" width="100" /></a> </div><div style="margin: 0 0 0 110px !important; padding: 0 0 0 0 !important;"><h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17344453">Text Me, Guido</a> </h3><h4 style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0;"> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6445141.Adrian_Staccato" style="text-decoration: none;">Adrian Staccato</a> </h4><div class="giveaway_details">Giveaway ends February 20, 2013. <br />See the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/44884" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway details</a> at Goodreads. </div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><a class="goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink" href="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/44884">Enter to win</a> </div></div><script charset="utf-8" src="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/44884" type="text/javascript"></script>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-49459571764630516502013-01-31T23:31:00.000-05:002013-01-31T23:31:25.675-05:00My Proof has Arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tHpPPb__QEQ/UQtD62V2dnI/AAAAAAAAAJE/MpkWdVjaDLs/s1600/Guido+Proof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tHpPPb__QEQ/UQtD62V2dnI/AAAAAAAAAJE/MpkWdVjaDLs/s320/Guido+Proof.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My posts have been slow as of late because I've been focusing on getting a <i>Text Me, Guido</i> paperback released using Amazon's Createspace.<br /><br />I plan on writing a post about the whole process soon, but so far, I'm quite pleased with my experience. My proof arrived in the mail today, and it looks and feels fantastic!<br /><br />Now it's just a matter of setting up the distribution channels and approving the book. Stay tuned for more info, and a Goodreads giveaway!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-70281844465988891342012-12-14T13:30:00.000-05:002012-12-14T13:30:40.332-05:00Walking Away Author Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju-kJr6D9dY/UMtUW5obZ3I/AAAAAAAAAIk/js4CdDuIhVg/s1600/703738_10151282039227298_2077969408_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju-kJr6D9dY/UMtUW5obZ3I/AAAAAAAAAIk/js4CdDuIhVg/s320/703738_10151282039227298_2077969408_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>When I released <i>Text Me, Guido</i> in July, Adriane Boyd was the very first blogger to ever review it. She's been incredibly supportive, and I can honestly say that I owe the majority of my sales to her efforts promoting my work. So when I heard she was publishing a book, I was eager to return the favor!<br /><br />Her new book, <i>Walking Away</i>, is available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANQTPRK/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> TODAY! And it's only a buck. So go and get it!<br /><br />And now, here's my interview with Adriane!<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing <i>Walking Away</i>, what other writers inspired you?</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I say you does that make me lame or creepy?</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, that makes you awesome.</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WOO! Well of course you, and there's Tammy Blackwell (who's book Destiny Binds was my very first indie), Shelly Crane, Tiffany King, Abbi Glines, Nichole Chase... The list is absolutely endless. But if we were talking music, well that would also be an endless list but altogether different.<span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before I started writing stories I wrote songs...</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Music has always been my biggest source of inspiration. I mean with bands like Pearl Jam (who's song Just Breathe inspired some of Walking Away) and Ambassadors who's song Litost got me through the rewrites of Walking Away, it's hard not to let your imagination just take you away on the wings of their music. It's really one of the most raw forms of imagery there is. You can't see the sounds, the emotions, the depth in the lyrics, but you can feel it, and it's amazing.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing songs was actually really very natural for me. From the time I was 3, I can remember singing along in Sunday school and in the car with my parents. I was in the children's and youth choirs in church rowing up and in high school I sang in the chorus. My best friend in college was in a band and he and I would collaborate lyrics together a lot, so it was essentially second nature.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Interesting.&nbsp;</b><b>You have a lot of well-known indie author friends. How did you come to befriend so many?</b></span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That's really easy. I read their books, fell in love with their characters and the stories. Then, it was the simple task of sending out friend requests to each of them on Facebook and praying they accepted them. I met most of them face to face at a book festival in Decatur, Georgia a few months ago and it's just grown from there.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a self-published author, how do you plan to promote this release (besides doing this interview on my blog)?</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Um, a lot of word of mouth and self promotion. What I mean is, I am going to plaster it on my own blog, on other blogs, on Facebook and Twitter, just everywhere.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Surely you must have more interviews lined up with much more important people than myself?</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No. Not really. Okay, I have a couple other interviews, but not with people I know. They were referred to me by other people.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will you be using KDP Select, and if so, why?</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will not be using KDP Select. It has been brought to my attention that if you publish using KDP Select, then you have to wait three months or some outrageous amount of time before you can publish with PubIt, Barnes &amp; Noble's self publishing platform. I know several of my potential readers have Nooks, so I would like for them to be able to enjoy Walking Away as well.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does this release share similar themes to your upcoming novel <i>You Just Know</i>?</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38;">No. You Just Know is a Young Adult contemporary. It's about losing something/someone important to you and learning to trust at a young age. Walking Away is about learning the difference between holding on and letting go.</span><br /><br /><div class="_3hi" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><div class="_1yr" style="float: right; margin-left: 4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="_2oy"></span></span></div><div class="_38 direction_ltr" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38;"><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">YJK is also told from two different points of view, and Walking Away is only told from Cora's side.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What was your rationale for publishing this short story before the release of <i>You Just Know</i>?</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Truthfully? I'm struggling with You Just Know. I'm having a really hard time making it meld together with what was already written, and I knew if I kept going at the rate that I was with it, then it would be complete trash. So in a way, Walking Away was something that I had to do. Plus, I feel like if the Mayans were right, then I've crossed off my #1 bucket list item.</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">So when can we expect <i>You Just Know</i>?</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As of right now late spring or early summer. That is, of course, if the Mayans were not correct. I'm leaning on the idea that the Mayan in charge of writing the calendar developed a cramp, and decided that December 21, 2012 was the best he could do.</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is your advice for anyone looking to self-publish?</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">DO NOT be afraid to ask questions. It's the only way you're going to be able to understand any of it. Don't go into this venture thinking you know everything based on a little bit of research. Though they may like to think it, Wiki doesn't know everything, and Google really is just a search engine. If you're serious about self publishing, then you have to ask questions. All kinds of questions.</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who to ask?</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Other self published authors. I have an entire list of them that I can give you.&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 17px;">Rhonda Dennis, Tiffany King, Andrea Randall, Charles Sheehan-Miles... Those are the ones who helped me the most.</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks so much for your time Adriane!</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now go pick up her book, and stay tuned for the release of her novel <i>You Just Know</i> in the future!</span></span></div></div></div>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-74207588397633483422012-12-04T18:57:00.000-05:002012-12-04T18:57:34.222-05:00Keeping the Chain Alive!The holiday season is approaching, and that means I have a lot more free time on my hands! I've been busy lately and this blog has been neglected, but I will try to make reparations in the best way possible: with a blog chain! YAY!<br /><br />Recently I was <a href="http://roblopezblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/chain-reaction.html" target="_blank">tagged</a> in a chain by author Rob Lopez, and I am more than happy to keep this one alive! However, the questions involve my next book, which is very secretive at the moment, so I'm not sure I'll be able to answer these questions in much detail, but I'll try...<br /><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is the title of your next book?</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sorry, I can't say.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where did the idea come from for the book?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A previous job I had.</span></span><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What genre does your book fall under?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like my other books, it's a dark comedy. However, unlike <i>Text Me, Guido</i> and <i>Fifty Shades of Azzurri</i>, it's written in a conventional style. No reliance on dialogue or text-messages this time--which I guess is a good thing for those of you opposed to originality.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie&nbsp;rendition?</span></b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdgWbiQA2pc/UL6KgObHTHI/AAAAAAAAAIU/eupnJqxsGXI/s1600/WalterSobchak.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdgWbiQA2pc/UL6KgObHTHI/AAAAAAAAAIU/eupnJqxsGXI/s320/WalterSobchak.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's fitting that this question is here, because the novel actually began as a screenplay I finished two years ago. I shopped it around, but the furthest it got was in the hands of some talent agency in Santa Monica. Ah, well. I had envisioned Steve Carell in the lead role, with supporting roles by Jim Carrey, Roseanne Barr (HAHAHA), and John Goodman, in a sort of homage to his character in The Big Lebowski, Walter Sobchak.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, can't answer.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Self-published.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The novel is not done yet, but the script was finished two years ago. It's just a matter of converting the script into novel form. It's harder than it sounds, but hopefully I can get it done within the next six months.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't say I'm aware of any other books quite like it, although there are definitely similarities to films (see below).</span></span><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who or What inspired you to write this book?</span></b><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I began writing it almost immediately after watching Punch-Drunk Love. The best way I can describe it is a cross between Punch Drunk Love, Blue Velvet, and The Big Lebowski. Weird, I know. But hilarious (or so I like to believe).</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?</b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be prepared for an absurd comedy that takes place in the modern world of Youtube. That's all I can say ;)</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now over to author Jim Larranga's <a href="http://jimbo1.typepad.com/icw/" target="_blank">book blog</a> to continue the chain!</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-26530015033324221952012-10-15T14:33:00.000-04:002012-10-15T14:33:21.819-04:00"I didn't like the characters"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fUN6ypl2Z88/UHxIhGNMiSI/AAAAAAAAAHw/t6yBdbgWToQ/s1600/beat_wife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fUN6ypl2Z88/UHxIhGNMiSI/AAAAAAAAAHw/t6yBdbgWToQ/s320/beat_wife.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull</td></tr></tbody></table>When I see this sort of criticism, I can only shake my head. When did it ever become a prerequisite that characters must be likeable in order to enjoy a book? With so many unlikeable people in the world, why do so many readers require likeable characters? And why is this often the sole criterion for determining whether one likes a book or a film?<br /><br />It's not about the characters' actions. It's about what the author is trying to say about their actions, otherwise known as the <b>themes</b> of a work. Far too often in modern literature, themes are neglected in favor of style. Readers seem to prefer formula over originality, and style over substance. This is why so many best-sellers today feature some generic guy with a six-pack on the cover.&nbsp;It's a sad day in the world when so much weight is placed on whether or not the characters were "hot enough".<br /><br />Whatever happened to <b>ideas</b>?<br /><br />Jake LaMotta (as portrayed by Robert DeNiro) is a thoroughly unlikeable, despicable character. But that doesn't make Raging Bull any less of a masterpiece. It's a treatise on violence in modern society, both as entertainment and as a means of conflict resolution. LaMotta is a man who works in both. He is flawed. He is human. That's what makes him interesting.<br /><br />Holden Caulfield is another character commonly referred to as "unlikeable". Goodreads currently lists 48,601 one star reviews for The Catcher in the Rye, almost all of the naysayers complaining of the "whiny" Caulfied. Did the readers forget that this is a book about a conflicted teen? This is how teens act. They whine and complain, and they act immature. The character is an accurate reflection of reality, and for me, this is infinitely more interesting than reading a book where all the characters are flawless and inhabit some fairytale land where everyone is cute and nice.<br /><br />But hey, that's just my opinion.<br /><br /><br />Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-52713936996849483732012-10-01T20:57:00.000-04:002012-10-01T20:57:27.264-04:00Amazon International Category DifferencesIn an <a href="http://adrianstaccato.blogspot.ca/2012/07/the-more-precise-method-of-selecting.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, I wrote about the benefits of listing your book in a small category on Amazon. Since the likelihood of making the top 100 in your category increases with fewer competition, your book will most likely fare better in a small category than a large one, where it is likely to get lost in the thousands of books listed.<br /><br />However, I've recently discovered that certain categories do not exist in Non-US versions of Amazon. For example, both of my books 'Text Me, Guido' and 'Fifty Shades of Azzurri' are listed in the Comic Fiction category of Amazon.com, but unfortunately, this category (or an equivalent) does not exist on Amazon.co.uk, or any other Non-US version of Amazon. This means that the exposure of these two books is severely limited outside of the US. Therefore, if you have a book that you feel is marketable internationally, it may be wise to avoid the Comic Fiction category.<br /><br />And for whatever reason, the Contemporary Fiction category does not exist in Non-US versions of Amazon, either.Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-3652344565554386042012-09-09T16:08:00.001-04:002012-09-09T16:08:39.727-04:00The Importance of ReviewsReviews (both good and bad) can provide insight into who is actually reading your book, and can aid in tailoring your book to your specific target audience.<br /><br />For instance, based on the reviews I've received thus far on Goodreads, virtually every single person who has read <i>Text Me, Guido</i> falls into one of the following two categories (or both):<br /><br />1) Middle-aged<br />2) Non-Italian<br /><br />Considering my book is about a group of text-messaging Italian-American young adults, I find this very troubling. Clearly, I am not reaching my target demographic. On Amazon, "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" lists a bunch of chick-lit. Again, not good.<br /><br />How can I solve this problem?<br /><br />As a writer, I am grateful to anyone who has read my work, but at the same time, if it falls into the wrong hands, it will likely do more harm than good. The people reading my book are clearly not the same people who watch Jersey Shore religiously, and this is a problem.<br /><br />The blurb and five-chapter preview I've provided on Amazon provide more than an accurate indication of the story and how the book functions to tell that story, but I'm still getting a lot of "The story was not for me"-type comments.<br /><br />So, how do I solve this problem?<br /><br />Well, obviously I can't rely on Snooki to retweet the link to my book to her followers, so I will have to find another solution (LOL). I'm releasing a new short story soon (probably within 24 hours) that I hope will attract my target demographic to me. My philosophy is to keep writing, and hopefully people will find me. Wishful thinking I know, but we'll see what happens. *Fingers crossed*Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-24456196515339891412012-08-13T14:32:00.000-04:002012-08-13T14:32:01.679-04:00What is up with Goodreads?It seems every time I visit Goodreads, it takes only a few minutes before I inevitably see this screen:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-waVKpYjMam8/UClHHH9XMSI/AAAAAAAAAGg/s9EmTH7wT6c/s1600/goodreads+screen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-waVKpYjMam8/UClHHH9XMSI/AAAAAAAAAGg/s9EmTH7wT6c/s640/goodreads+screen.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><br /><br />Am I alone on this? Because frankly, it's becoming annoying.<br /><br />Facebook has nearly a billion active users, and I never once encounter any problems on their servers. Goodreads, on the other hand, has a mere 10 million, yet its servers are constantly overworked. Maybe it's time for an upgrade?Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-64171038357228393952012-08-11T15:50:00.001-04:002012-08-11T15:50:55.601-04:00Just How Up-to-Date are KDP Sales Reports?Instant sales reports are a relatively new development with the advent of e-publishing -- so I guess I should be grateful (and I am) --&nbsp;but there appears to be a lot of confusion over just how "<a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3VJZKPUQXAU57" target="_blank">up-to-date</a>" the KDP sales reports really are (<a href="http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php?topic=118089.0" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241814" target="_blank">here</a>, a google search yields much more).<br /><br />I was under the impression that sales reports would be instantaneous (and maybe I was naive, but this myth is perpetuated by a large number of bloggers, so it's not entirely my fault). The fact is, KDP sales reports are rarely instantaneous, and often times can take days to update (and this is when things are running smoothly). A recent KDP <a href="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248823" target="_blank">outage&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;had many, including myself, waiting for almost a week before seeing any update to our sales. And outages are more common than you think.<br /><br />My point: Don't go into KDP and expect up-to-the-minute sales reports. They don't exist. Just sit back. Relax. And stop checking your dashboard every 5 seconds.<br /><br /><br />Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-37519181543343233502012-08-01T19:25:00.001-04:002012-08-01T19:25:44.463-04:00Text Me, Guido Gets Reviewed!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5qcenH9JUDQ/UBm62SNmMfI/AAAAAAAAAGM/azzlW8fQGwo/s1600/book+reviews.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5qcenH9JUDQ/UBm62SNmMfI/AAAAAAAAAGM/azzlW8fQGwo/s1600/book+reviews.JPG" /></a></div>It's been <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008MMX56Y" target="_blank">available</a> for 2 weeks now, and <i>Text Me, Guido</i> is starting to generate some buzz! Christina Rodriguez at <a href="http://christinabookreviews.blogspot.ca/2012/08/text-me-guido-by-adrian-saccato.html?spref=tw" target="_blank">Christina's Book Reviews</a> and Adriane Boyd at <a href="http://theindiebookshelf.blogspot.ca/2012/08/text-me-guido.html" target="_blank">The Indie BookShelf</a> have published rave <span style="font-family: inherit;">reviews! Check them out! And if you haven't done so already, follow them on twitter at&nbsp;<a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/AdrianeB09" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><s style="text-decoration: none;">@</s><b style="font-weight: normal;">AdrianeB09</b></a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/Xtina316" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><s style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">@</s><b style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Xtina316</b></a><span style="line-height: 18px;">!</span></span>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-59470609240403881532012-07-30T15:24:00.001-04:002012-07-30T15:24:56.766-04:00Comprehensive List of Canadian Book BloggersIf you're an author looking for people to review your book, Carmel over at Rabid Reads has compiled a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rabidreads.ca/p/canadian-bb.html" target="_blank">list</a> of Canadian book bloggers who accept book submissions.<br /><br />Do yourselves a favor and submit to everyone on that list! What an amazing resource!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-26635406919855695672012-07-28T00:53:00.001-04:002012-07-28T00:53:27.294-04:00Formatting Your E-Book (Yourself)Kindle Direct Publishing prides itself on the variety of formats it can now convert to a .mobi file: According to its <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2GF0UFHIYG9VQ" target="_blank">FAQ</a>, you can upload Word, HTML, Plain Text, Rich Text Format, and PDF files directly for conversion (in addition to the standard .prc and .epub formats).<br /><br />The rationale behind such a wide selection would seem to be convenience -- BUT, uploading in one of these formats would most likely result in a poorly-formatted book (especially if you upload Word or PDF files, since these have unique characters that are not recognized by a Kindle). That's why most writers opt to pay a professional to format their e-book for them...but why not learn how to format it yourself?<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">For most writers, writing is only a hobby --&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">they attend to their jobs in the day and have families to take care of at night -- so I understand if people feel the need to hire a professional in this circumstance. &nbsp;Not all of us are tech savvy, and the whole process can be quite time-extensive. But</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;if writing is your full-time job, you really have no excuse; it isn't that difficult (even if you consider yourself to be a computer illiterate).</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Take me, for instance. I was completely clueless as to how to format an e-book, and I managed to figure it out and complete it in 5 days. And the main reason it took this long was because of the general lack of information online (the Mobipocket tutorial is a joke, and definitely not aimed at beginners). I had to search message boards for help and other lesser known sites for hours because every detail seemed to be in a foreign language.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Which brings me to this post: I'm going to make things easy for you, and put all the information you need in one place! And I'll make sure everything is described in simpler terms, for beginners. (You can thank me later).&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">All you need to start formatting your book is the Publisher Edition of Mobipocket Creator (which you can download <a href="http://www.mobipocket.com/dev/article.asp?basefolder=prcgen&amp;file=building.htm" target="_blank">here</a>). Once you have it installed, the dashboard will look like this:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdSd8cshbDE/UBL6SflmxFI/AAAAAAAAAD0/HQ3M9lUzFDw/s1600/mobipocket+dashboard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdSd8cshbDE/UBL6SflmxFI/AAAAAAAAAD0/HQ3M9lUzFDw/s640/mobipocket+dashboard.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Under "Import From Existing File", you'll notice you have the option to upload your book as a Word or PDF file. But like KDP, this will cause formatting problems. To avoid this, we need to open up the original book file in Word and save it as a "Web Page, Filtered". To do this, open up the Word document and select File &gt; Save As &gt; Under "Save As Type" select "Web Page, Filtered", like so:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ToF3lc5l4/UBMWjl1wrII/AAAAAAAAAEE/BlzClRer_bw/s1600/web+page+filtered.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ToF3lc5l4/UBMWjl1wrII/AAAAAAAAAEE/BlzClRer_bw/s640/web+page+filtered.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">NOTE: Before you &nbsp;save it as a web page, it might be wise to make sure all of your chapter headings are formatted as Headers. This step is especially important if you plan to include a clickable table of contents with your e-book. To do this, highlight your chapter headings and select "Heading 1":</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlZV5zHnxYg/UBMYV7stJOI/AAAAAAAAAEM/mYjeo2geyqc/s1600/heading+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlZV5zHnxYg/UBMYV7stJOI/AAAAAAAAAEM/mYjeo2geyqc/s640/heading+1.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Once you have inserted your headings, you can save as a web page and open up Mobipocket Creator. Under "Import from Existing File" choose HTML document and upload the web page file. After a brief conversion, you'll be taken to the following interface:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0BBSp1Qh0hI/UBM-kVXsxMI/AAAAAAAAAEc/7NqHiae6O1I/s1600/mobipocket+interface.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0BBSp1Qh0hI/UBM-kVXsxMI/AAAAAAAAAEc/7NqHiae6O1I/s640/mobipocket+interface.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">The first thing you should click on is "Metadata" on the left sidebar. In this section, you'll see a whole bunch of options to fill in, but don't worry about it because most of these you will provide to Amazon (or whatever platform you are using). The eBook Title and the Author name are all you need to fill in. Once you've done that, scroll to the bottom and click update. If you're uploading to Amazon, don't worry about the Cover Image (for more on why, read my earlier <a href="http://adrianstaccato.blogspot.ca/2012/07/internal-cover-or-not.html" target="_blank">post</a>).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Next, you're going to want to make a Table of Contents (although it is entirely optional). If you remembered to format all your chapter headings as Headers before you saved as a web page, this step is really easy. Just click on "Table of Contents", and under "Tag Name" and "First Level", type "h1" (The HTML notation for "Heading 1", which is what you chose in Word to format your Chapter headings). It should look like this:</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J3fgVNt7eMU/UBNBd79YImI/AAAAAAAAAEs/HSHWhAzac1o/s1600/mobipocket+table+of+contents.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J3fgVNt7eMU/UBNBd79YImI/AAAAAAAAAEs/HSHWhAzac1o/s640/mobipocket+table+of+contents.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Click Update and then "Build" at the top right. You can preview your table of contents. All your chapter headings should appear as clickable links to the page in which each chapter begins. In the Mobipocket Emulator you can also survey your ebook document and check for any errors in the conversion process (chances are you'll find many -- which brings us to the editing process).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Click to go back to your "Publication Files", and click "Save" at the top just in case. Then click on your .html file and "Edit with HTML editor". This is where things might get a little intimidating. What you'll see is a bunch of scary looking code. I am not an HTML expert so I won't be able to help you with any complex problems, but what I can offer are solutions to the most common problems encountered:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Chapter Headings</b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">By default, chapter headings are NOT bolded. You'll probably want to make them bold, otherwise, they'll look odd. To do this, scroll down the HTML code until you see /* Style Definitions */ (or you can press CTRL+F and type "Style Definitions" to get there faster). Under Style Definitions, paste the <a href="http://htmlhelp.com/reference/html40/block/h1.html" target="_blank">following code</a> in to make your Chapter Headings bold:</span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">h1 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; {color: #c33;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; background: none;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; font-weight: bold;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; text-align: left}</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">It should look like this:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_rqIydlWe8/UBNGl-VCTOI/AAAAAAAAAE8/UItN3JsZSt4/s1600/mobipocket+style+definitions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_rqIydlWe8/UBNGl-VCTOI/AAAAAAAAAE8/UItN3JsZSt4/s320/mobipocket+style+definitions.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Paragraph Indentations</b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span><br />I have this <a href="http://www.gbenthien.net/Kindle%20and%20EPUB/basic_css.html" target="_blank">site</a> to thank for this information. Basically, paragraphs are coded in HTML as a member of the p-class. This means that any code beginning with &lt;p&gt; and ending with &lt;/p&gt; contains a paragraph inside. By default, all paragraphs are indented. If you want all paragraphs in your text to NOT be indented, paste the following code under "Style Definitions":<br /><br />p {text-indent: 0; text-align: left}<br /><br />This means that all members of the p-class (paragraphs) will not be indented and instead aligned left. Makes sense, right?<br /><br />Now, if you still want your paragraphs to indent but want to target a specific paragraph to align left, you need to find the specific paragraph you are looking for. Try CTRL+F and type the first few words of the paragraph and it should pop up. You'll notice the text is enclosed in &lt;p&gt;, like so:<br /><br /><br />&lt;p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;<br />text-align:center;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;"&gt;All work and no play make Jack a dull boy<span style="background-color: white;">&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Here, the paragraph is "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy". If you want to make it so the paragraph aligns left, just find where it says "style=" and inse<span style="font-family: inherit;">rt "</span></span><span style="line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">text-indent: 0;" like so:&nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">&lt;p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 27px;">text-indent: 0;&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">text-align:center;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;"&gt;All work and no play make Jack a dull boy<span style="background-color: white;">&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Don't forget the quotation mark at the beginning and the end of the style section!)</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Page Breaks</b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">If you want to add page breaks at specific points in your book, first paste the following code under "Style Definitions":</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">.break { page-break-before: always; }</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Now all you have to do is find the paragraph or heading you want on a new page, and modify the class. In the case of our earlier example, instead of it reading&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white;">&lt;p class="MsoNormal", it will now read&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">&lt;p class="break":</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">&lt;p class="break" align="center" style="<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 27px;">text-indent: 0;&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">text-align:center;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;"&gt;All work and no play make Jack a dull boy<span style="background-color: white;">&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Line Breaks</b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">There's nearly a 100% chance you will encounter an issue with line breaks. This is because, by default, when converted to .prc, all your text is crunched together. So if you had a page that looked like this in Word:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A0wlpAT3ZsA/UBNmV8mgbfI/AAAAAAAAAFM/ly7TurhIp6I/s1600/page+example+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A0wlpAT3ZsA/UBNmV8mgbfI/AAAAAAAAAFM/ly7TurhIp6I/s640/page+example+1.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">It will most likely look like this after being converted to .prc:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_6ExahnFGEk/UBNm9Ao4nbI/AAAAAAAAAFU/npH7_BX5nQc/s1600/page+example+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_6ExahnFGEk/UBNm9Ao4nbI/AAAAAAAAAFU/npH7_BX5nQc/s640/page+example+2.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">To add line breaks, you need to add &lt;br /&gt; after every paragraph or header in which you want the break to occur (If there is an easier way of doing this, please let me know).&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">And there you have it! This should address your most common concerns, however, i</span><span style="background-color: white;">f you've read this and still feel like a professional is your best bet, then feel free to hire one. But be careful. You don't want&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/07/23/learning-the-ropes-by-jen-smith/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">this</a><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;to happen to you.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-18507774616638319362012-07-20T20:04:00.001-04:002012-07-20T20:04:27.150-04:00Proof Kindle Categories Matter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Br3hM9tFERY/UAnxLFOnRsI/AAAAAAAAADk/LEee7DwRjYI/s1600/Sales+Figures1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Br3hM9tFERY/UAnxLFOnRsI/AAAAAAAAADk/LEee7DwRjYI/s400/Sales+Figures1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Within hours of switching to two small Kindle categories (see previous post), I have already acquired an Amazon Best Sellers Rank and climbed significantly in both categories. Not bad!<br /><br />I will update with more information as it becomes available!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-83862692544321751772012-07-19T16:32:00.000-04:002012-07-19T18:48:59.037-04:00The More Precise Method of Selecting Kindle CategoriesWhen uploading to KDP, you are required to select two categories where viewers can find your book. This is a crucial step because if your book is in a saturated category, no one will find it, and you'll see very few sales.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white;">For example, if your book is listed under:&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />Kindle Store<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">›</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kindle eBooks<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">›</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span>Fiction<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">›</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span>Romance<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">›</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">Contemporary</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">It will need to compete against 27,710 other books, and will therefore need to be truly exceptional to stand out. However, if you list it under:&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br />Kindle Store<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">›</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kindle eBooks<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">›</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span>Fiction<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">›</span><span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span>Romance<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white;">› Romantic Suspense</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">It will only have to compete against a much smaller 7,554 books, thus greatly increasing the chances it will sell.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">The only problem is, the KDP system makes it nearly impossible to select the exact category you want your book to appear under since the category selection options do not correspond with the actual options listed in the Kindle Store. For my book, I was hoping to have it listed under these two small categories to maximize my chances of being read:&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Kindle Store › Kindle eBooks › Fiction › Comic Fiction (93 books)</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kindle Store › Kindle eBooks › Humor › Comedy &nbsp;(663 books)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">But these options do not exist in the category selection tool. I ended up choosing the closest I could find:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />Fiction › Humorous<br />Humor › Topic<span style="background-color: white;">&nbsp;› Relationships</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the book went up for publication, I found Amazon put it under the following categories:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Kindle Store › Kindle eBooks › Humor (31,441 books)</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Single Women &nbsp;(20,054 books)</span><div><br /></div><div>There is a way around this though. The KDP staff are happy to put your book in whatever category you wish, all you need to do is follow these steps:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Forget about selecting categories when you upload your book. Instead, scroll to the bottom of the category list and select NON-CLASSIFIABLE. (Had I known this was a required step, I would've saved myself some valuable time)</div><div>2. Once your book is listed for sale, go to the KDP dashboard. In the bottom right, select "Contact Us"</div><div>3. Under "What is the problem?" select "Editing Book Details" and type your request to have your categories changed.</div><div>4. Within 24 hours, KDP staff will reply and say they have manually added your book to the categories you requested.</div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br />(If you want to learn more about categories and why they are important, read M. Louisa's <a href="http://mlouisalocke.com/2011/10/24/categories-key-words-and-tags-oh-my-why-should-an-author-care/" target="_blank">post</a>)Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-79172744839450942922012-07-18T21:18:00.001-04:002012-07-18T21:18:38.342-04:00How Accurate is the Kindle Cover Previewer?A word of warning to anyone about to publish on Amazon Kindle: The Kindle Cover Previewer is awful, and not at all indicative of how the cover will look once it is published on the site.<br /><br />To illustrate my point, take a look at what I saw when I uploaded the cover of my book:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTQ3HGXmOu8/UAdfPt88z6I/AAAAAAAAAC4/3DWY9ApnsIs/s1600/text+me+guido+cover+preview.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GTQ3HGXmOu8/UAdfPt88z6I/AAAAAAAAAC4/3DWY9ApnsIs/s1600/text+me+guido+cover+preview.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Imagine the horror on my face. I immediately googled to see if I was dreaming, and as it turned out, many other authors have had the same problem.<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Why the preview image is so damn compressed is a mystery to me, but&nbsp;</span>once it is published, it does not look nearly as bad. Here is my cover on the product page:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S1jjcbdC0Lw/UAdfgT4zipI/AAAAAAAAADA/duoKTiet2ZM/s1600/text+me+guido+product+page.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S1jjcbdC0Lw/UAdfgT4zipI/AAAAAAAAADA/duoKTiet2ZM/s1600/text+me+guido+product+page.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And as a thumbnail:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EivtD2KfysM/UAdf0eENQNI/AAAAAAAAADI/syd4VXdAgwg/s1600/text+me+guido+thumbnail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EivtD2KfysM/UAdf0eENQNI/AAAAAAAAADI/syd4VXdAgwg/s1600/text+me+guido+thumbnail.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Like night and day!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-21889998741059656472012-07-18T20:04:00.001-04:002012-07-18T20:04:48.952-04:00Text Me, Guido Now Available!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Qi91i9cQgo/UAdNdxKag-I/AAAAAAAAACM/fOiU1_0nkO8/s1600/text+me+guido+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Qi91i9cQgo/UAdNdxKag-I/AAAAAAAAACM/fOiU1_0nkO8/s400/text+me+guido+cover.JPG" width="236" /></a></div>My novel, <i>Text Me, Guido, </i>is now available for download on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008MMX56Y" target="_blank">Amazon Kindle</a>!<br /><br />It's only $0.99!<br /><br />Blurb from Amazon:<br /><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Text Me, Guido" is the debut novel from author Adrian Staccato, and the first in a planned series. Told entirely through text-messaging conversations, the book follows five Italian-American college friends as they complete their final semester of school. They are: Enzo, Sofia, Giulia, Claudia, and Phil.<br /><br />Enzo is your typical bronze-tanned Guido. The son of a wealthy home builder, he spends his days at the gym and his nights at the club. When he’s not buying drinks for his friends, he’s showering his longtime girlfriend, Sofia, with gifts – making her the envy of the neighborhood. Her friends, Giulia and Claudia, secretly hope the two will break it off, but Sofia is set on marriage and eagerly awaits Enzo’s proposal.<br /><br />Enzo’s friend, Phil, is the outcast of the group. He dislikes to party, and attributes the “Jersey Shore lifestyle” to the decline of civilization. Nevertheless, he finds himself infatuated with Giulia – a crush since kindergarten. Giulia, however, is wildly insecure and has no interest in his bookish ways. She has her heart set on Enzo – and with a little maneuvering, she might just get what she wants!</span></i>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-60974644871005361772012-07-16T19:29:00.002-04:002012-07-16T19:29:08.414-04:00Internal Cover, or Not?While formatting ebooks for publication, many authors prefer to include an internal cover image. Indeed, this was the norm (and in fact, <a href="http://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws.com/AmazonKindlePublishingGuidelines.pdf" target="_blank">mandatory</a>) for Kindle publishers up until recently; authors needed to provide an internal cover, as well as a second image for when the product is displayed on the Amazon site. This is no longer the case.<br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Now, only one product image is required. According to the KDP section when you are uploading the cover, Amazon uses this image in their search results, as well as your book's product display page, and now automatically embeds the image as your internal cover page. This means that inserting an internal cover is no longer required, and doing so will result in the cover appearing twice within your book.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />Many thanks to <a href="http://www.unrulyguides.com/2012/05/kindle-formatting-kindle-book-cover/" target="_blank">Suzanne Parrott</a> and <a href="http://mademers.com/globalindieauthor/2012/04/uploading-your-kindle-book-cover-separately-is-the-better-option/" target="_blank">M.A. Demers</a> for the info!Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147170534247881498.post-3420638901775396782012-07-16T15:19:00.001-04:002012-07-16T15:19:35.819-04:00Do you need a US Bank Account? EIN? Registered Business Name? License to publish on Amazon?<span style="font-family: inherit;">After months of research, I decided to self-publish my book on the Amazon Kindle. I designed my cover page myself, and I spent a week learning HTML just so I could convert my book to .prc format (using Mobipocket Creator). But just as I was about to publish, I came across this bit of information on the KDP FAQ:&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">We'll pay you automatically by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to a US, UK, or&nbsp;</span>EU<span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;bank account"</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">As a Canadian, I was shocked. How was I to get paid? If I had continued reading, I would've noticed "</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">or mail a check" on the same page, but I was too shocked to pay attention. After a google search, I discovered that this was in fact true. I do not need a US bank account to get paid in Canada. They will mail the check in USD, and it can be converted at the bank. Simple.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">But this opened up a whole new bag of problems. I <a href="http://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/what-canadians-who-sell-kindle-e-books-need-to-know/" target="_blank">discovered</a>&nbsp;that (as a foreigner) I was subject to a 30% withholding tax by the IRS on all Amazon royalties I received. So not only would I be taxed by the Canadian government, but also by the US, which would no doubt leave me with very little income! The only way around this is to apply for exemption as a result of a special tax treaty between the US and Canada. But in order to do this, you need a TIN (Tax Identification Number) for Amazon to process your exemption.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">There are two types of TINs:&nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer ID Number) and an EIN (Employer ID Number). Until very recently, many people believed that the ITIN was required for self-publishers on Amazon. I had heard&nbsp;</span><a href="http://catherineryanhoward.com/2011/11/07/applying-for-a-us-individual-tax-identification-number-itin-a-saga-in-3-parts/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">horror stories</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;that involved filling out the ITIN form and required documentation and months of delays and rejections. The prospect of doing all this tedious paperwork and waiting months for approval was NOT appealing, and I was deeply saddened...for a few minutes. Then I stumbled across Roz Morris'&nbsp;</span><a href="http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/how-i-got-my-itin-us-individual-taxpayer-identification-number/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">blog post</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;suggesting that all you needed was an EIN, which could be acquired within minutes. Catherine Howard's&nbsp;</span><a href="http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/02/24/non-us-self-publisher-tax-issues-dont-need-to-be-taxing/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">blog post</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;confirmed it! You don't need an ITIN at all! An EIN is just fine!</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">There is just one catch: you need to have a business. This involves registering a business name (which usually costs anywhere between $60-$100 depending on your local laws) and applying for a business license (again more fees and form filing). But this is not necessarily the case...&nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">If you visit the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A1VDYJ32T5D3U4" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">KDP FAQ</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;you will find the following:&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">For non-US persons, a TIN may be an EIN (for individuals and businesses) or an ITIN (for individuals only)."</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reason individuals qualify for an EIN is because the majority of self-publishers are publishing as individuals, not as a company. You DON'T need a company to publish on Amazon. When you call the IRS &nbsp;(</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">1 267 941 1099)&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">for the EIN number, just let them know you are self-publishing as a sole proprietor.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">This brings us to the next issue: If you are a sole proprietor, do you need to register for a business name? Well, that depends. If you are publishing under a different name, then yes you do. If you are publishing under your own name, then no you don't. (NOTE: the name you publish under on Amazon is different from the author name, so you can still use a pseudonym to conceal your identity, if you wish). Just tell the IRS you are a sole-proprietor publishing under your own name, and they won't mind. That's what I did, and I had my EIN in under five minutes (excluding the fifteen minutes I was on hold).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Do you need a business license as a sole proprietor on Amazon? No.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Business licenses only pertain to the jurisdiction in which you live, so the IRS and Amazon do not care if you have one, and they will not ask.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Check your local laws to make sure, but in Ontario, a business license is only required if you are servicing customers directly or are required to collect taxes for the government. Since Amazon is distributing your books for you, you are not servicing customers directly. Amazon handles the business side of publishing for you, so a business license is not required.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">There you have it, you can have an EIN in under five minutes without paying a dime!</span>Adrian Staccatohttps://plus.google.com/104240445617280348176noreply@blogger.com10
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