Category Archives: e-Reader

Podcasts For Authors

click-click clickedy click-click Click!

I’m fortunate to be friends with other folks who are budding authors — and since publishing I have also come into contact with some established authors (like Craig Gordon, whom I recently blogged about). Something that’s really cool is that everyone is asking everyone questions and loads of people are happy to help with what they know!
(See my “PPS” below — I’ve even gotten into it!)

Recently I asked Nick Marsden a few questions and he suggested podcasts by Joanna Penn. This was a wonderful suggestion and I’m grateful to Nick for making it! Since Nick’s suggestion I have only heard 2 of Joanna Penn’s podcasts.  The content fit my needs well, and looking at the list of her other podcasts I want to listen to all 400+ shows ASAP! Interesting interviews and all sorts of topics that speak to my writing interests.

By The Way …
Here are Nick and Joanna’s important links

If you’re a new author, an author who is already on their way, or someone who is questioning if they should write ‘that first book’, I encourage you to check out Joanna Penn’s podcasts — and take off on your journey!

PS — If you have suggestions of other podcasts for authors on the topics of writing, publishing, marketing, and more, please let me know 🙂
PPS — I’ve been contacted by new authors across the country and around the world for information on self-publishing — how cool is that?!?  I’ve directed them to the presentation I did with Tom Trimbath — which is coming up again …)

The Creative Penn Podcast: Writing, Publishing, Book Marketing, Making A Living With Your Writing

Darn Good Cookies E-Book Publishing UPDATE

Immediately on the heals of publishing “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies” this past October I dove in to making an e-book version of this first publication.  With some tips from my friend and self-publishing coach, Tom Trimbath, along with ideas I gleaned from a few e-articles on the subject*, I made strong progress in a few week’s time.
(*this article in particular)

Bulldoggedly!

For the past couple of weeks I have been awaiting a review of my work on the e-book version — and last night I received it BACK! There were positive comments on my work along with some constructive questions — questions about things to correct and things to improve that I was unaware of.  I have worked over this list and my document doggedly since last night –I believe I have fixed everything, I have improved a number of things, and I even included a few recipe tweaks that I didn’t mention in my paper book. My understanding is that this work is or should be close to done. I would like to get one more check-over and my aim is to have the e-book published before the holidays at the end of the month — likely sooner!
(*PSST*
— I also plan to make an audiobook version of Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies.)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

In the meantime I have kept myself busy working on one of the future books I have conceived — and I have to say, I have made some SMOKIN’ PROGRESS.  The funny thing to me (/cue laugh track) is that I didn’t intend on working on this book until I had a few other works published ….. but something about it grabbed my brain and wouldn’t let it go!

^^^ It can be kinda like this ^^^

I’m having a little too much fun working on this future book idea.  New recipes have been devised, experimented with, and are taking form.  Exciting elements to this book have been added in that I didn’t think of before.  There are a few select people I have shared the details of this project with and they’ve gotten on-board to help.  This book feels like it’s writing itself!

So when will it be ready…

Perhaps ….. Fall 2019?

Building Oneself In The Book Business

Rock 'n' Roll baby
Geoff Castle’s 2013 Celtic Xmas Concert in Anacortes, WA – photo courtesy of Chris Terrell

Lately I focused some of my time on studying how to build oneself in the business of self-publishing books — in other words, marketing.

When it comes to gaining attention, my knowledge-base was born out of the music industry — promoting bands, representing albums, and selling my services as a solo Highland bagpiper for people’s life events ranging from weddings to retirement parties and of course funerals.  I applied this DIY gumption and (albeit subtly) my rock ‘n’ roll marketing approach to period of my business when I was producing baked goods, and I have been continuing this into this new endeavour of writing and self-publishing recipe books.

E-Readers

thumbs up for the e-reader
Thanks Aleta!

As you will recall from my 07Nov2017 blog post, an online friend — Aleta — generously offered to send one of her earlier e-readers to me.  She wanted to support my plan to turn my first recipe book into an e-reader edition, and it helps to have a device to view your work as you are converting your book file into an e-reader file.  As I have been learning about the conversion process I have also started learning about other authors publishing and marketing their e-books.  Much to this voracious reader’s joy I have also learned about free e-books!  Among these I have found books and articles on marketing.  This morning I read a marketing article that enhanced both thoughts and plans I already had…

How to Turn your Book into 18 STREAMS of Income
by Kary Oberbrunner

Kary Oberbrunner
Kary Oberbrunner … we haven’t met.

Go-getters, movers and shakers, creative people, and artist have at least two things in common — we all have great ideas to work from and we all make mistakes.  When we learn from our mistakes or learn about mistakes to avoid and-how we all grow!

Kary Oberbrunner’s article “How to Turn your Book into 18 STREAMS of Income” points out marketing mistakes for writers to avoid (like thinking of books as business cards) along with options and opportunities that they may have not realized.  Some of what Mr. Oberbrunner presents in his article I am already familiar with and is parallel to my direction — other elements have shown me new ideas or ways to think differently about things I already know.

His main focus in this article is for writers to turn their books into an income stream.  One morsel — section 2 on ebooks, suggesting why most (every?) author should turn their printed book into an e-book — particularly resounded with my plans and I had an AH-HA! moment.  The gist of the writing was …

“Ebooks are as close as your smartphone. You can read an ebook while standing on a subway, sitting in a doctor’s office, or waiting in line at the grocery store.”

Relative to my recipe book everything before ‘grocery store’ made sense once I read ‘grocery store.

baking books
Recipe Books — JOY JOY JOY!

Folks haul their phones everywhere, and often folks with e-readers haul them everywhere, too.  They might have 100+ books on their e-reader but they don’t haul 100 books everywhere.  Most of the books I have put on my phone duplicate to my e-reader and vice versa.

While I have queried and found that most people prefer to NOT cook or bake working from recipes on an e-screen, it could still be beneficial to have your recipes — or preferably My Recipes (<– I am not above shameless self promotion) — on your phone or e-reader.   Folks don’t haul all their recipe books to work where they think about what they are going to make for dinner, and then haul those books to the grocery store where they double check ingredients they are going to buy.

The big AH-HA! I had was…

I had already planned to convert my book to an e-book, but now I am thinking — PLEASE put my recipe book on your electronic device.  If you don’t want to work in the kitchen from an electronic screen, I understand — to each their own — but bring it with you when you shop, or when you are going to be thinking about what you’re going to make for your friends or family.  Or what you might make for the hottie  in the accounting department at work whom you just landed a date with!

Does it make sense for me to convert my recipe book to an e-book?

OH YEAH!

All things Kary Oberbrunner

Publishing Update – E-Reader Edition

As promised earlier today on Facebook
a Publishing Update!
Big or small, here’s the thing & here we go….
{Coming up – E-Readers & a Big Fat THANK YOU}

Ooh — BOOKS!

How do you like reading recipes?

When it comes to baking & cooking, I’m not particular — I prefer working from a recipe card, a piece of paper, or a book. Most of my recipes have coffee rings and other bits of ingredients decorating their edges. When it comes to working from an electronic screen I don’t mind working from my laptop, and I often do.

About a year ago I asked on the WIBC Facebook page what people prefer to work from — paper, computer screens, recipes written in pen on their forearm, etc. Largely I learned folks prefer paper, and I’m all for it. I am, however, planning to get my book published and As Soon As Possible following up with publishing for e-reader.

I have a little more work to go on my book before analogue publishing, and I’m already taking steps toward the re-format to follow. With this I have been learning that e-publishing is a different game — you have to do all sorts of different things to have your book appear right on an e-reader and there are different things you need to include in the writing — not to mention the things you CAN include …… yep, try to put a web link in your paper book!

*To That End*…. I posted a question on my personal Facebook profile lately asking about what I need to know to reformat my book as an e-book … the answer, A LOT. Okay, so, I’m working on that.

Big Tex – consummate Texas State Fair resident from 1952 to 2012

One of the responses I got was from an e-friend, Aleta somewhere in the great state of TEXAS (<– Note, everything is bigger in TEXAS), very kindly pointed out that to reformat my book for e-reader I would want to see it on an e-reader as I work, and she offered to send me one of her earlier cherished models.

My mom has been using e-readers for years … I’ve helped her figure out a few bugs with downloading her books …. but otherwise I’ve never used one & barely touched the things. I like my analogue books and have a stack of them to plow through. I asked my editor, Linda, if I needed one of these & about taking Aleta up on her generous offer. Short-story made longish by yours-truly, I took Aleta up on her offer and a smart little unit arrived by post yesterday!

Ophiuchs wrasselin’ a serpent with Hercules lending a helping club

This looks like a great device! And now I have to figure out how to work it …?… which, when it comes to electronics, I have a knack for that. I’ll just have to control my temptation to peek at it when I’m not currently working on my practical-publication — gotta get that puppy DONE!

There’s this great thing about finding passion for something & being a DIY’er — you say you want to do something and people come out and volunteer their support. Aleta has certainly helped me to go forward with her support in the new direction of Whidbey Island Baking Company.

Thanks Aleta!
All the Best ~ Don

WIBC on Facebook

The Great State of Texas and Texas.gov

Ophiuchus AKA the Serpent Bearer

Hercules who occasionally lends a helping club