Category: General Topics

Wise Ink: ERROR: Kindle’s Latest Warning Message

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Wow, check out this post from Wise Ink about Amazon’s coming Error Message. This is exactly why I prefer to always have a paperback copy of my books available. Electronics are not dependable and in the case that a great book is flagged because of minor errors or formatting issues, leaves the reader to do nothing but abandon that authors work. With no option to purchase a paperback / hard copy, what options are available for the reader but to abandon that book altogether? I’m not concerned about this to be honest (I try not to worry about things much anymore, especially things I can’t change) but I do see how it can be a hindrance to many Self-Pub authors. I would suggest making your work available in as many formats and on as many platforms as possible and to have an author website or blog set up as another option from which readers can find your work. I would have a paperback/hard-copy on standby just in case. Yes, technology is increasing every day and changing the book publishing industry, but don’t believe the hype. Readers still buy paperback books! To take it a step further, you can set up a DBA (“Doing Business As” name – A fictitious name (or assumed name, trade name or DBA name) is a business name that is different from your personal name, the names of your partners or the officially registered name of your LLC or corporation) and try to get your books stocked at a major distribution company where you can buy in bulk directly from them. I know, easier said. I probably just spoke of something nearly impossible unless your Oprah but it can be done. (In my “Flash” voice “Believe in the impossible!”) The process is long and challenging and tedious and I’m sure we will all be wanting to pull our hair out BUT I think it will be of great benefit in the end. I’m interested in why B&N NOOK, KOBO, and other platforms are not as prominent as Kindle as additional sources in which ebooks are sold. While I can’t “knock” Amazon for wanting to distance itself from the the lack of “Grammatical / Formatting professionalism”, I’m not sure if relying solely on Amazon as a source where readers can find your book is wise.

Stop Wasting Time

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You get up. Go to work. Complain at work. Blog at work and complain about blogging. Count the seconds until the day is over. The day is over. Go home. Make dinner. Kiss the wife / husband. Kiss the children. Complain about work tomorrow. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Get up. Go to work. Complain at work. Count the seconds until the day is over….

Has it ever occurred to us that there is more to life than just existing? How many of us can honestly say that we enjoy every minute of time we have in a day? By “enjoy” I do not mean spending your days partying like a rock star, going to clubs, getting rich or die trying. I mean as in to appreciate, or to value. Yes, your career or job may not be what you want at this time but you are there for a reason. It could be because your smile puts a smile on someone else face. Could be because your “Good Morning!” warms someone’s heart. It could be because your “weirdness” is not weird at all. If only the world was just as crazy as you are, maybe it would be in a far better place. If only it carried your light.

And what of those in-between moments? When your on lunch, what are you doing in that time? Are you reading and nourishing your mind? Are you studying for something? Are you seeking to be a better person today than you were yesterday?

And what of it when you come home? Are you cherishing those moments or complaining about them?

It would have been nice to have our expiration dates tattooed to our chest when we were born. To have written on our birth certificates:

March 12, 1956 – September 9, 2020

That would have been nice but it would have also made our lives a lot different than they are now. Many of us would be far better people and seek to live far better lives. We would give more, and we would care more. Except, this isn’t reality. The covenant we make to die when we breathe our first breath does not come with a date. And when its time to go, and our life flashes before our eyes, the years we wasted we are going to desperately want back. Do something today that is going to actually mean something when the dust settles and the gravediggers are singing your song.

Choices

I woke up this morning to this scene in The Matrix Reloaded. I’ll just leave it here:

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Oracle: We can never see passed the choices we don’t understand.

Neo: You mean I have to choose whether Trinity lives or dies?

Oracle: No, you already made the choice. Now you have to understand it.

– The Matrix Reloaded

The Oscars: Our Fight

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OK, so what’s my thoughts on this? Well, there’s the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in-between. There’s the surface and then there’s what is beneath the surface but I’m not going to get into all of that. There’s some dark clouds in Hollywood but there’s some sunshine too. As far as the Oscar Boycott is concerned, I don’t have much to comment. On this cool, yet beautiful Saturday, my day of rest, my Sabbath, and my calm. On this day, where I usually do not post, I needed to write this and I choose to keep it beautiful.

From the positive end of the spectrum, there’s a glint of light attempting to bud and to shine and to erupt into something beautiful. Something is trying to break through the hard shell, pierce the darkness, and replenish the damaged soil in Hollywood. Who knows what will come of it. Will blacks gather as a cohesive unit to achieve something of their own? It is not really just about the Oscars. It’s about a jolt of consciousness that is needed, and perhaps now being conceived, to move this powerful people. Come forward Gideon. Come forward David. Come forward Samson. Come forward and tell your story the way that it needs to be told.

Re-post: Author Tips on Writing Historical Fiction

This is a re-post from M.K. Tod who writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her recent post included a list of tips on writing Historical Fiction as acquired from around the web. Instead of re-blogging I decided to re-post some of those tips here, they are just too good to let pass us by so I organized them in the list below so we can see them all. Please visit A Writer of History for author source and to comment on her blog. I would also suggest you follow her (especially if your a historical fiction writer), she is always on point with her guest authors, links, and advice:

  • Let the characters engage with the historical details – a variation on show don’t tell

 

  • Allow your characters to question and explore their place in society – doing so reveals the context of the times

 

  • Love the process, because readers will still find errors

 

  • Sweat the Small Stuff – small details allow readers to engage all senses in the past world you are building

 

  • Dump the Ballast – too much detail is a killer

 

  • Read historical fiction – sounds obvious doesn’t it but you have to appreciate excellent historical fiction in order to be successful

 

  • Know when to stop researching – cautions about falling down the proverbial rabbit hole

 

  • Research comes before writing – get the facts right to ensure a good foundation for your novel

 

  • Inhabit the mind and skin of your characters – you have to understand the sensibilities of the time so your readers can feel immersed in it

 

  • Pick a universal theme if you can – the concerns of your novel need to resonate with modern readers

 

  • Choose a time and place that really intrigues you – passion will make your story more compelling

No Wonder Your Post Only Got 5 Likes

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Before I shut down for the weekend I have to share this. I’m sitting here going through some of my older posts (the ones with 0-5 likes) and my tagging is  just sad. Like, it doesn’t even make any sense. I love looking back on my work and seeing where I can improve. So, here’s 7 tips on tagging I acquired from some friends in the blogging world as well as somewhere in this brain of mine. I caution I am not an expert and these tips are just based on my prior knowledge and experience (so far) with blogging:

1. Try to mix your original tags with some general tags. General tags are tags that are often used such as: Blog, Blogger, Blogging, WordPress, Google, General, Poetry, and Writing (for book promo also use Amazon, eBook, and Self-Publishing). Original Tags are any tags you want to use or tags that are unique to your blog such as your blog name (I often use pbs for Pearls Before Swine).

2. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box. Make sure your tags have something to do with the post BUT this doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and add tags you think may drive more traffic since its mentioned in your post. For instance, one of the tags I chose for this post is: “Spelling”. This post is not going to teach you how to spell, but it does say something about spelling. I could have also used “Grammar” or “Grammatically Correct”, or “Punctuation”. I also tagged this post “Follows” and “Support” because they are similar in theme to “Likes”

3. Make sure your spelling is correct in the tags! LOL

4. If you’re going to use less than 15 tags, make them count. It will be best to use commonly used tags, such as Blog, General, and WordPress. Otherwise, it’s best to stick to at least 15 -17 tags. I think any more than that is overkill because…well, just because.

5. Remember that categories count as tags.

6. Keep your tags short and simple! Remember that old saying that if you sell books the way you buy them you’re more likely to increase profit? If you go to Amazon to buy a book, then your book should probably be on Amazon as well. Or, if you are more than likely to purchase an ebook, your book should probably have an ebook version as well. The logic is that you’re a reader first and if you have certain buying habits as a reader then chances are other readers have the same habits and so you use your reader habits in your marketing strategies. Well, if you tag the way you browse the net it may help in the same way. People google the way that they think and have a tendency to use the same keywords over and over again. This means some tags are just taking up space because no one is going to use them. What’s the chances of someone finding “Ilovemymothersomuch”? That’s a tag that doesn’t make any sense. I would tag it “Mothers” instead because if I needed to google articles about a mother’s love that is what I would type in.

7. As a bonus, here’s a Tag Support Chart I acquired some time ago from a fellow blogger. It displays some commonly used tags separated by days. I don’t always follow the suggested actions that go along with the tags but I do use them. I’m still learning how to tag properly but this chart has been VERY helpful in that process (Tags I often use are: Blog, Blogging, Blogger, General, Writing, Google, WordPress, and I add one of the tags in the chart along with some that have to do with the post itself):

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