You May Have Noticed...

Since I'm trying to get my life into an Abby Normal schedule again, I've started posting twice a week again and hopefully back to three times a week by the end of the year. The proposed schedule will be Wednesday for writer's writing and Sunday on challenges in writing after a stroke with some more excerpts. Eventually I will do a Friday blog (promotion & marketing) with interviews with other authors and reviews of movies and books I have read and/or watched. I will not do a star system but tell a brief summary, what I liked and didn't like about said book or movie. It will only be my opinion. It won't be a single category type thing because I am eclectic in all things.

I started writing again this week. So far I've added another 1,000 words bringing the total to over 17K of 75K. I've still got a long way to go, but I keep remembering the tortoise and the hare story. Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad will be completed... I just have no idea as to when. But it's a slow and steady progress thing. There is so much difference in my writing now compared to before the stroke.

 In some ways, it's learning how to write again from scratch. It is definitely a work in progress. It will be my sole effort until my neurons steadily fire around the damaged areas in my brain. Once I can master writing in a way I'm used to I'll go back to my fiction writing. Although it probably won't ever be up to ten to twenty projects at a time as before. The genius, multitasking, master juggler is gone.

Maybe a ghost writer would be a better option, but I'm stubborn. I've ghosted manuscripts in the past for others and I still have other books and novels yet to be published. One of my daughters offered to help me reedit and reformat my novels for Kindle. Which would be great except she has no idea how to do it without me standing behind her as we go from line to line. I helped her pass her college level English courses. It would takes forever. Of course I could just go back to the original manuscript and make the changes, but I realize it is beyond me right now. 

Escape from Second Eden was originally saved to a 5 1/4 floppy, 3.5 floppy, CD and finally a thumb drive. The files corruption when I downloaded my novels from Kindle are unusable. I have to go back to square one and re-release the titles under a new cover and new edition. That's the only option I see.

My daughter mentioned that she can type faster than 100WPM if I recorded the story on a tape player she could type it. The major problem is that's not how I write or tell a story. There won't be that flash of inspiration that stems from writing it yourself. Some of my greatest scenes happened while typing the basics out on the keyboard. While I've ghosted by dictation before, it's the flair of creativity has to be added. It is an option though.

That's the beauty of being an indie author. You can do what you want when you want. It can't be any worse than getting poor reviews because of a screwed up format. It's the learning curve that's tripping me up right now. By my calculation I've lost five to ten years of memory and how-to with the stroke. Even things like languages I spoke for decades is a part of my forgotten history. So the relearning process continues on. But memory is flexible and evolving constantly.

I tested my typing speed. I do it with the Mavis Beacon Typing program. I do this every Saturday to see if I'm improving. I take big and small victories where I can.While I'm still using one hand instead of two and there is improvement. I still have to look at the keys though. My corrected speed is up to 18WPM. Yeah me!

I'm still doing my exercise workouts and e-stim twice a day. I have two therapists I married last year coming in once a week and measuring progress until the new year rolls around. I'm truly blessed because I didn't know they were therapists when I married them. Only one did I know worked with my daughter at Hospice. The other one showed pictures of her wedding to my daughter. That's when the connection was made. Both volunteered their services to me. An added blessing. It's funny when you think about it. A couple talking sessions about their weddings, me officiating and paid, and usually that's it. I rarely keep extended contact with people after the ceremony.It just goes to show how things come full circle in life. The little things that you do in this life which impact others.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Kindle Select...Opting Out

I got the email about Kindle Select and actually gave it a lot of thought. I am opting out.

What scares me about the program...
While it sounds lucrative...how can they actually predict the earning potential on such a new program? Yes, they have been in business for years as a online book seller. Yes, they have a track record. Yes, they say you can opt out any time after the 90 day period.  It all sounds too good to be true and you know what they say about things being too good to be true.

I published all my novels in both Smashwords, Kindle, and Createspace for paperbacks. Yes, I do understand the powerhouse Amazon is becoming. But exclusivity? Does this mean they will start promoting my books? Uh huh! They are just lending my books. They are not actual sales.

Right now through Smashwords, my novels are available in all formats. It doesn't matter whether you have a kindle, nook, or whatever or not. You can also download for your computer. The sales on these other devices are small, but that isn't the point.  The point is it is available to all readers. I also noticed I picked up a few new U.K. readers who join the U.S., Canada, European markets this past month. Welcome all. Who am I to tell everyone to get my novels you HAVE to buy a Kindle?

Currently, I have five manuscripts in the works for publishing next year plus two other possibles. If I sign an exclusive contract...yes this is a legally binding contract with some stiff penalties, what will happen to the new novels and nonfiction I want to publish? Although the contract says 90 days, there could be long reaching tentacles reaching for the new ones. Yes, I do understand I have the option to cancel, but didn't I just slap the other retailers in the face by opting in? Can we say monopoly? If I ever make best seller on Amazon (albeit unlikely), as it stands right now that prestige carries over to other retailers thus more sales in those markets. With Kindle Select it's one street and one marketplace.

If I wanted to sign an exclusive contract I would have submitted my novels to my NY publisher.

Now, I could see the benefits to an unknown newly published author. It would get your product (novel) into more hands possibly. There isn't a track record to go by at this point. So you may be on the cutting edge of a new fangled thing.

While this is not necessarily a bad thing, I just see the broader picture. The picture painted is rosy, but I know after a year of semi-humping my hinny off in self-publishing, it is not that easy.  There is never a quick fix which works in the long run. It takes hard work. It takes learning the trade of publishing and marketing. It takes business savvy. It takes learning the craft of writing and storytelling to the best of your ability and keep learning new angles. This is not the business of if you write it they will come. It takes building an audience, developing relationships, and experience garnered over time.

This is not the 1960's of the one-hit wonders of musical groups. You, as an indie author, are in it for the long haul...multiple titles, notoriety, and the love of the craft. It's entertainment that can be revisited and cherished like the teddy bear or dolly of your youth. I have books which I enjoyed as a child that have been passed down to my children and grandchildren. That's the overall goal of writing...the love and the continuation.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.