Okay, so I have written posts before about my critique partner (CP) and how we have both been helping each other with finishing and editing our respective novels so we can use our CreateSpace coupons from NaNoWriMo to publish. Well, she finished hers before me and her book is now available from the CreateSpace eStore, and Amazon (paperback and Kindle).
I have discussed it with her and we are going to plan some time to have a little interview about the book and her writing process, etc. to be posted here on my blog. In the meantime, I'd just like to say that I am extremely proud of her, and here are the links to the various places you can buy her book, Farther Side of Away.
CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/4192170?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026
Amazon (paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Farther-Side-Away-Signy-Cullen/dp/1484847423/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371755067&sr=8-1&keywords=Farther+Side+of+Away
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Farther-Side-of-Away-ebook/dp/B00DHY2UJU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371754525&sr=1-1&keywords=Farther+Side+of+Away
Friday, June 21, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
More Info on Project Death: Resurrection
Okay, so I've talked about my novel, Project Death: Resurrection, on here quite a bit, but it has been a while since I've really been able to give any sort of update. That is mostly because of my currently rather hectic work life and the fact that I spend a lot of time basically helping my parents to babysit my grandmother. Now, I'm not saying that as if I'm complaining because I love my grandmother, but I do feel guilty if I'm sitting with her and I pull out a notebook or my laptop to try and get some writing work done.
Anyway, here we are almost halfway through the month of June. What this means (aside from the start of Camp NaNoWriMo growing steadily nearer) is that my CreateSpace code is close to expiring, which basically means that I need to step up my game just a little bit. I've created a nice schedule and, if everything goes as planned, Project Death: Resurrection will be released at the end of the month.
In light of that fact I have decided to once again tell you all about the book and all the information I've basically been tinkering with behind the scenes these past few weeks/months.
However, when I reformat for ebook, I'm hoping that I can really lower that price for the readers while still being profitable for me. I plan on utilizing Smashwords for the ebook process so I can have my book formatted for NOOK, Kindle, Kobo, Sony Reader, iBooks, etc. because I want as many people as possible to be able to find my book in a format that works for them. I'll have to do a little more research and tinkering, but as of right now I'm thinking that for Project Death: Resurrection the ebook price will most likely be $3.99 or $4.99.
Okay, enough talk of the dollars and cents and all that sort of stuff. I know I've posted it before, but once again, here is the back-cover summary for Project Death: Resurrection:
Oh, and I'm also planning on having a couple of giveaways for my book, most likely on Goodreads. The Goodreads giveaway books will be pretty special because they will be signed, and who knows, but that could be worth something someday. I mean, come on, I can dream, right? I so can't wait to have a copy of my book in my hands. I'll have more information about where you can buy the book if you're interested here in a few weeks.
Anyway, here we are almost halfway through the month of June. What this means (aside from the start of Camp NaNoWriMo growing steadily nearer) is that my CreateSpace code is close to expiring, which basically means that I need to step up my game just a little bit. I've created a nice schedule and, if everything goes as planned, Project Death: Resurrection will be released at the end of the month.
In light of that fact I have decided to once again tell you all about the book and all the information I've basically been tinkering with behind the scenes these past few weeks/months.
This is the front cover of the paperback version and the only cover for what will eventually be the e-book version as well. Once I have the paperback released I'll be focusing most of my attention on Camp NaNoWriMo in July, so it's likely that I won't be able to get around to the novel interior reformatting for the e-book version until August. Which means that for a month to two months my book will only be available in paperback.
Now, I've been doing some playing around with the price point and trying to figure out what would be reasonable for the readers/consumers while also giving me even a tiny profit. CreateSpace has a couple different options when it comes to distribution: standard and expanded. The standard distribution is free to the author and includes having your book available via Amazon.com, the CreateSpace eStore, and the option to go ebook for Kindle. That's nice and all, but I am also a huge supporter of Barnes & Noble and it would be nice to have my book available there too. Looking into the expanded distribution, it is a $25 fee to utilize, but may actually be more beneficial in the long run.
I think this would work a lot better for me, but with expanded distribution and its cost, it makes it a little more difficult to make a profit. I was doing some tinkering and some looking at prices for comparably sized books to mine and originally I thought for the paperback that $9.95 would be reasonable, and it would be a really decent profit margin using standard distribution, but with expanded distribution I would actually be losing roughly $0.50 for every book. I moved the price up to $10.95 and that negative profit on expanded distribution moved up to a loss of about $0.10 for every book, but a price of $11.95 would yield me about $0.33 profit from each book. I really would have preferred to stick with $9.95 but if I go with expanded distribution so my book is available in more places then I have to be mindful of how that affects everything else.What is Expanded Distribution?
Expanded Distribution offers you the opportunity to access a larger audience through more online retailers, bookstores, libraries, academic institutions, and distributors within the United States. Expanded Distribution will also improve discoverability of your book across all the channels. Regardless of whether or not you include your title in Expanded Distribution, all CreateSpace titles can be distributed through the Amazon.com, Amazon Europe and eStore channels.
How does it work?
Most online retailers, bookstores, and libraries find books through purchasing relationships with large distributors. If your book is not listed with these distributors, some retailers may not be able to buy your book, even if a customer specifically requests your title. Through Expanded Distribution you can distribute and make your title available for order (this does not guarantee that your book will actually be ordered) through the following channels:
- Bookstores and Online Retailers - make your book available to online and offline retailers such as Barnes & Noble and to distributors such as Ingram and NACSCORP.
- Libraries and Academic Institutions - make your book available through Baker & Taylor to libraries and academic institutions.
- CreateSpace Direct - make your book available to certified resellers through our wholesale website.
However, when I reformat for ebook, I'm hoping that I can really lower that price for the readers while still being profitable for me. I plan on utilizing Smashwords for the ebook process so I can have my book formatted for NOOK, Kindle, Kobo, Sony Reader, iBooks, etc. because I want as many people as possible to be able to find my book in a format that works for them. I'll have to do a little more research and tinkering, but as of right now I'm thinking that for Project Death: Resurrection the ebook price will most likely be $3.99 or $4.99.
Okay, enough talk of the dollars and cents and all that sort of stuff. I know I've posted it before, but once again, here is the back-cover summary for Project Death: Resurrection:
Tamesis always thought that she knew her destiny and she was determined to be the absolute best Resurrector there was.
But, Fate had different plans. On her first heal, Tamesis runs into two mysterious men, and one of them changes everything for her.
Tamesis cannot stop thinking and dreaming about him. Then, when the work of the Resurrectors is threatened, the man returns and sets Tamesis on a path that opposes everything she was raised to believe.
Something has twisted the beliefs of the Resurrectors, causing them to stray from their path and become extremists. They were supposed to save those who still had noble work to do, but instead insist that everyone deserves to live until old age.
Now she needs to accept the role she was destined to have, that of the Angel of Death, healing those she can and reaping the souls of those who must die.
Her new position makes her a valuable player in a war that has gone on for centuries, between Resurrectors and those who protect the Balance of Life and Death. It is a dangerous place as the war heats up, threatening to throw everything into chaos.
Oh, and I'm also planning on having a couple of giveaways for my book, most likely on Goodreads. The Goodreads giveaway books will be pretty special because they will be signed, and who knows, but that could be worth something someday. I mean, come on, I can dream, right? I so can't wait to have a copy of my book in my hands. I'll have more information about where you can buy the book if you're interested here in a few weeks.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
So Many Books to Read
Okay, so I read a lot of books. So many that sometimes I have a hard time remembering all the books I've read. Really, I should have predicted this problem back in my youth and kept a list of everything I've read. In my first semester of grad school I was required to join Goodreads. Yes, that's right, one of my first assignments for one of my librarian classes was to join Goodreads and/or LibraryThing. Since then I have been trying to input all the books I can remember reading. Just including the ones I read from Junior High to about midway through college, I accumulated over 1,000 books. The problem is that I know there are so many others I don't have listed there.
Thankfully though, thanks to Goodreads, I don't have to worry about forgetting those books any longer. Now I like to keep track of the books I am currently reading, the ones I want to read, and the ones that I have read. What is really funny to me is that my to-read list is almost as long as my read list...and the to-read list just keeps growing and growing. It is over 850 books long so far. I want to try and read as many of them as I possibly can, but I know that there is no way I could read them all...unless I had a job where all I did was read books and then review them.
Not only do I have my to-read list on Goodreads, but I also have an actual physical TBR pile in my room and then I have my virtual TBR pile on my NOOK. Just in case people don't want to believe me on this, here is a picture of my current physical TBR pile:
Most of these are books I've purchased the last couple times I went to B&N, but there are about five that I won in giveaways. Not surprisingly, my NOOK TBR pile is bigger, but it would be extremely difficult to try and take a picture of that considering my TBR pile actually takes up all three of my home screens on my NOOK.
Yes, I've already read over 80 books this year, and clearly I am going to probably read about 80 more. Books are my addiction and it is an addiction I never plan to give up. Thankfully books are not as hazardous to my health as other vices such as drinking or smoking or drugs. I know I get weird looks from some people when I talk about books as much and as passionately as I do, but I am not going to change for anyone.
I am a bibliophile. I am a librarian. If I do not have books with me then I am not happy. Through the books I've read over the years I have traveled to so many different countries and worlds and planets. I have made some amazing friends, swooned over some extremely crushworthy men, and faced down terrifying villains and monsters. I have experienced love and loss, friendship, triumph, failure, adventure, and have collected enormous amounts of knowledge.
When the rest of the world seems to be falling down around me and when reality is just too depressing to face, I have my books. They are always there for me, very dependable, and for that I have always been grateful.
How about you guys? What is your feeling/relationship with books? Are you reading anything that you think I should add to my ever-growing to-read list?
Oh, and I should probably say that I'm thinking of changing the review format a little for my From the Stacks reviews. It'll still have a picture of the book, the summary, and of course links to purchase the book, but in the My Thoughts section, I'm thinking of breaking it down and going over my feelings about the cover, whether or not the summary pulled me in, and then discussing my feelings of the characters, the relationships, and the plot.
For the month of June I'm busy with some final edits for Project Death: Resurrection and then in July I will be dealing with the second session of Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm thinking that I'll start the new From the Stacks format at the beginning of August.
Thankfully though, thanks to Goodreads, I don't have to worry about forgetting those books any longer. Now I like to keep track of the books I am currently reading, the ones I want to read, and the ones that I have read. What is really funny to me is that my to-read list is almost as long as my read list...and the to-read list just keeps growing and growing. It is over 850 books long so far. I want to try and read as many of them as I possibly can, but I know that there is no way I could read them all...unless I had a job where all I did was read books and then review them.
Not only do I have my to-read list on Goodreads, but I also have an actual physical TBR pile in my room and then I have my virtual TBR pile on my NOOK. Just in case people don't want to believe me on this, here is a picture of my current physical TBR pile:
Most of these are books I've purchased the last couple times I went to B&N, but there are about five that I won in giveaways. Not surprisingly, my NOOK TBR pile is bigger, but it would be extremely difficult to try and take a picture of that considering my TBR pile actually takes up all three of my home screens on my NOOK.
Yes, I've already read over 80 books this year, and clearly I am going to probably read about 80 more. Books are my addiction and it is an addiction I never plan to give up. Thankfully books are not as hazardous to my health as other vices such as drinking or smoking or drugs. I know I get weird looks from some people when I talk about books as much and as passionately as I do, but I am not going to change for anyone.
I am a bibliophile. I am a librarian. If I do not have books with me then I am not happy. Through the books I've read over the years I have traveled to so many different countries and worlds and planets. I have made some amazing friends, swooned over some extremely crushworthy men, and faced down terrifying villains and monsters. I have experienced love and loss, friendship, triumph, failure, adventure, and have collected enormous amounts of knowledge.
When the rest of the world seems to be falling down around me and when reality is just too depressing to face, I have my books. They are always there for me, very dependable, and for that I have always been grateful.
How about you guys? What is your feeling/relationship with books? Are you reading anything that you think I should add to my ever-growing to-read list?
Oh, and I should probably say that I'm thinking of changing the review format a little for my From the Stacks reviews. It'll still have a picture of the book, the summary, and of course links to purchase the book, but in the My Thoughts section, I'm thinking of breaking it down and going over my feelings about the cover, whether or not the summary pulled me in, and then discussing my feelings of the characters, the relationships, and the plot.
For the month of June I'm busy with some final edits for Project Death: Resurrection and then in July I will be dealing with the second session of Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm thinking that I'll start the new From the Stacks format at the beginning of August.
Monday, June 3, 2013
From the Stacks: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
I will read anything and everything published by Richelle Mead and that is the honest truth. I love the blend of drama and humor in her books and the incredible world and character building, and Gameboard of the Gods is no exception.
Summary:
The truth is, when you banish the gods from the world, they eventually come back—with a vengeance.
In the near future, Justin March lives in exile from the Republic of United North America. After failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims, Justin is surprised when he is sent back with a peculiar assignment—to solve a string of ritualistic murders steeped in seemingly unexplainable phenomena.
Justin’s return comes with an even bigger shock: His new partner and bodyguard, Mae Koskinen, is a prætorian, one of the Republic’s technologically enhanced supersoldiers. Mae’s inexplicable beauty and aristocratic upbringing attract Justin’s curiosity and desire, but her true nature holds more danger than anyone realizes.
As their investigation unfolds, Justin and Mae find themselves in the crosshairs of mysterious enemies. Powers greater than they can imagine have started to assemble in the shadows, preparing to reclaim a world that has renounced religion and where humans are merely gamepieces on their board.
My Thoughts:
I really like that Richelle Mead can simultaneously work on a YA series and an adult series. She is incredibly versatile and I'm obsessed with all of her books. When I heard about her new adult series, the Age of X, I impatiently waited as more information trickled in and once the ARC showed up on NetGalley, I requested it immediately, all the while thinking that I'd probably be denied, but I wasn't. So, I put aside whatever else I was reading and dove into Gameboard of the Gods at once.
I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The relationship between Justin and Mae to me, in some ways anyway, seems as if it is a wonderful hybrid of some of Mead's other great characters.Mae is as kick-ass as Dimitri from Vampire Academy but with the cool detachment of Rose's mother. Then there is Justin, who honestly does seem like a perfect Sydrian (that is Sydney and Adrian mash-up). These characters completely embody both studious habits and badassery.
Plus, can I just say, the whole concept of a society that has basically renounced all religion and what denominations have survived are heavily monitored and limited, and yet the Gods of the world are now coming back and are using people in this shadowy war is incredibly intriguing. When I started to piece together some of the Gods who were in play already in the first book, I'm not going to lie...I geeked out.
The world is complex and yet I sincerely hope our future does not end up this way because as much as I enjoy reading about it, I really would not want to live in that kind of world. The characters draw you in. I love Justin and Mae and Tessa, and I am very much looking forward to the next installment. Read this book. You won't be disappointed. 5/5.
I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The relationship between Justin and Mae to me, in some ways anyway, seems as if it is a wonderful hybrid of some of Mead's other great characters.Mae is as kick-ass as Dimitri from Vampire Academy but with the cool detachment of Rose's mother. Then there is Justin, who honestly does seem like a perfect Sydrian (that is Sydney and Adrian mash-up). These characters completely embody both studious habits and badassery.
Plus, can I just say, the whole concept of a society that has basically renounced all religion and what denominations have survived are heavily monitored and limited, and yet the Gods of the world are now coming back and are using people in this shadowy war is incredibly intriguing. When I started to piece together some of the Gods who were in play already in the first book, I'm not going to lie...I geeked out.
The world is complex and yet I sincerely hope our future does not end up this way because as much as I enjoy reading about it, I really would not want to live in that kind of world. The characters draw you in. I love Justin and Mae and Tessa, and I am very much looking forward to the next installment. Read this book. You won't be disappointed. 5/5.
Gameboard of the Gods at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gameboard-of-the-gods-richelle-mead/1113599176?ean=9780525953685
Gameboard of the Gods at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gameboard-Gods-Age-Richelle-Mead/dp/052595368X/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1386503811&sr=8-1
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