Indie Publishing Secret #12- Revisiting the Cover

Indie Secret #12-Your Cover....
Go check out Why Not? Because I Said So TODAY! 

And write a review of Watched in the comment section of my blog to be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Yahoo!


I've had a lot of emails asking about Createspace's cover designer. I thought I'd go into a bit more detail.

1. Not all templates allow you to upload your own photo. If it doesn't give you the option to upload your own-then you can't use that one with your own design/picture. It will only the allow the background you see on the template. Only a few are like this.
2. One template is made for you to put your professionally done cover in. When you click on it, it lets you know it is that one
3. When you choose a template, you can use your picture or choose one from their gallery if you'd like.
4. You can not change the placement of the title, author name, author picture, and back blurb because it is a template. However, you can unclick "visible" for several of these and not have to worry about them. For example, I put my picture on the last page of my book instead of the back cover by unclicking the "visible" box. You could unclick the visible for the back blurb-but I don't suggest that. You want that.
5. If your picture doesn't work just right-you can edit it with free software like Picasa or use Photoshop or some other editing software to make it work. Just edit and reload until you get it right. 
6. The most important thing about your cover picture is that you remember the picture has to be high resolution. If it isn't it will send you a message telling you it may be blurry when they print your cover. Make sure you heed that warning-even if you love how it looks on the screen.
7. The spine does not show until you submit your cover. You submit by pushing the submit button at the bottom of the screen. This does NOT lock you into that cover. It only creates the entire cover for you. It takes a few minutes-but you could change it however many times you want. Just re-submit when you think you have it how you want it. 
8. Keep in mind as you look at the picture without the spine, that the ISBN is on the back of the book. So, check out it's placement to kinda know where everything is on the page. If it's too hard to understand that concept, simply press submit and get the whole view. No harm, no foul. You can do that as many times as you like.
9. Also, remember, you need to add your price on the back of the book somewhere. I used Photoshop. You can do it for free in Picasa or use a different edititing program. You can't, however, use Word. If you do, you end up with a Word document and you can't upload those for your cover.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.


Happy Covering!! And get to reviewing my book, Watched, so you can win the $10 Amazon gift card. Just put your review in the comments of either of my blogs to enter.

Indie Publishing Secret #11 ....and a Contest?

So, remember in Secret #6 I talked about people selling your book? Some amazing bloggers are doing that this week for me.  Lucky me and lucky YOU!  Several are holding contests (including me) and you could easily win! (Check out the end of the post for details or go to cindymhogan.blogspot.com for the contest, recipes and more)

What's Secret #11? Hold contests the week your book comes out and regularly for a while.

This may seem like a jump forward from what we've been discussing, but you need to be thinking about it now and asking people to be a part of the chaos when you do publish. Start getting things lined up several months before you actually print or publish the ebook. This is a good way to get the word out.

Just change the contests up. Hold a launch blog tour/blast contest. Have your blogger friends have giveaways of your book on their site. Have a review contest. Give books away on Goodreads. Have your friends and others do interviews. Have people feature you on their blogs and talk about you on Twitter and Facebook....Reach out. Ask for help. Be methodical about it and keep track about who offers to do what and when. Be creative. Think of fun ways to get people to know you and be interested in your book.

Give your book to people who help you out. You've got to give the book to your reviewers for sure, and they need the book a couple months in advance. You can feature them on your site, too. Reward them for helping you out.

Make sure that you are still offering good content on your blog while the contests are going on. Don't stop blogging your regular stuff-remember, this is what brought people to you in the first place.

I'll go into more detail later about doing all of this. I just wanted to bring it to your attention and get you thinking about it now so you can start planning.

Happy contest planning- see below for the contest

YAHOO! I'm so excited! It's review week for Watched!

 

All week long you'll get to read reviews of Watched on some fun blogs and have chances to win prizes. Some of the blogs are even giving away signed copies of Watched. Go visit the blogs on the list below and find out what the buzz is all about.

You could also win a $10 Amazon gift card just for writing your own review of Watched in the comment section of this blog or emailing it to cindymhogan at yahoo dot com before August 12th.

That gives you plenty of time to read it and review it. Buy an ebook (only 2.99 right now)here for Kindle or here for Nook or print books here.

Earn 5 bonus points by posting your review with a link to buy Watched, on your own blog before August 12th. Make sure you comment with a link to your site so I can give you the 5 bonus points.


Check out these fun blogs on these days and you just might win something super fun!
     

Monday, July 18th       Lisa Ann Turner  -fun stuff about me.                     And   Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Tuesday, July 19th           Canda's Inkblast

Wednesday, July 20th      Teen Book Guide and

                                 LDS Women's Book Review

Thursday, July 21st          Fire and Ice

Friday, July 22nd             Star Crossed Book Reviews

Monday, July 25th           Ink Drop Interviews- more fun stuff

Tuesday, July 26th      Why Not Because I Said So

If you visit all the blogs and read all the reviews and interviews just leave me a comment here that you did by Wed. July 27th for the 5 bonus points to win the $10 gift card.

Indie Publishing Secret #10 Mobi Pocket

Indie Secret #10

Did you figure out which ISBN route to take? I hope I gave you enough information to navigate your way through it without a lot of headache.

Onward and upward to Mobipocket. Now you need to change your book into .HTML. If you already know how to do that, you can skip this post.

Mobipocket is a free way to convert your book into HTML for uploading to the Kindle. You can upload a word doc. but you are bound to have issues with how it is formated once in the Kindle system. This step takes those issues away. (Amazon owns this site...big surprise, right?)

1.  Go to Mobipocket.com
2. In Mobipocket Creator-Select create an ebook
3. Download the program. You also want to download Mobipocket reader, so you can read the book once uploaded and converted. Do this now.
4. Select import word document (If that's how you created and saved your book)
5. Browse and find your book then import it
6. Add your cover picture. Simply browse and once you find it, add it. This is the high resolution thumbnail image you requested from Createspace by calling and having them send you the thumbnail. Tell them you need this for promotional flyers-which you do. Of course, if you didn't use Cover Creator in Createspace you should have your own file/thumbnail with your cover.
7. Select your cover and click update
8. Select Build from the Menu

When it is finished. It will say, Build finished.

1. Click on "Preview your book with Mobipocket Reader for PC" (Your book is now in .prc format) Pretty cool huh?
2. Exit and Save
3. Click "Open" at the top of the page. Your book will come up in  "My docs/publications folder" automatically. This is what you upload to Kindle when you're ready. (I'll go over this next week)

Have fun with Mobipocket! It is an awesome resource.

Happy Mobipocketing!

Secrets to Indie Publishing Revealed #9-Choosing an ISBN

Secret #9

How's it going with your cover? What have you discovered? What about formatting your file? Did that go well?

It's time to choose your ISBN.

Go to Createspace and sign in.

Click on your book title and look for the "set up" tab. Click on ISBN.

You have four choices-each with pros and cons

1. Free. If you only intend to sell through Createspace channels, you may want to choose this. It will list Createspace as the publisher.YOu can not take this ISBN with you to another printer/distributor. If you want your books in stores, do not choose this option. Createspace says it will be available for stores to purchase because it will be in the Ingram catalogue, but bookstores do not order POD books (Createspace is a POD distributor/printer) Bookstores insist on the ability to return your book at any time up to 99 years from purchase. POD is a final sale-no returns.
2. 10 buck option- If you only intend to sell through Createspace channels, you many want to choose this. Why the $10 fee? It give you the ability to "imprint" the book as the publisher. You can use your name or make up a publishing company like "Sunshine Publishing" to be the publisher. This keeps Createspace off your book info. (all the info about taking it with you from option #1 holds true with this option)
3. Custom-If you want to take your book and get it onto bookstore shelves as well as Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and others-you may want to choose this option. Sure, $99 seems like a lot of money for your own ISBN when you can get one for free, but remember, If you choose option 1 or 2, you have no control over where your book goes. You can not take it to another distributor. (Createspace is a printer and distributor) using their ISBN. This option lets you take it where ever you want to have it printed or distributed.
4. Custom Universal-this allows you to buy your ISBN somewhere else and put it on your book. If you intend to write several books and self-publish them, this is what you will want to do. You can go to Bowker.com and buy "packs" of ISBN's for less than $99 a pop. If you buy ten, it's around $500. Most authors who self-publish go this route. You can take your book to any printer and/or distributor you choose.

Now, remember, even if you use option #3 or #4, Createspace does not imprint the price into the barcode they create. Most bookstores require this. If you only intend to sell through online channels, don't worry about this.

Go to a barcode generator online and pay a few bucks to have one made that includes the price if you are selling it outside Createspace distribution.

Take some time to decide which route to go. Once you choose an ISBN, you are stuck with it for that book. You can re-publish with a different ISBN, but that means you start all over and it can be a headache. I had to do this and it is no fun.

Happy ISBNing!

Indie Publishing Secrets Revealed #8-The Text to your Book.

This is a long post-but full of great info.

How is the editing going on your book? Have you either hired an editor or had multiple "people in the know" go over your work with a fine-toothed-comb? I cannot stress the importance of this! Do not skip this step.

Let's talk about formatting your print book.

You have a cover now, or at least the ability to create one, if you read my last post. Remember, you need a cover whether you are creating an ebook or print book. While you're in Createspace, go ahead and upload your interior file (the text in your book) to Createspace.
There are several ways to do this. First of all, make a second copy of your interior. Name it createspace interior file. Do not use your original to play around with.

I'm going to start from the beginning on Createspace.
Sign in. You will now be in your member dashboard. Click on "add a new title".  It will ask you to name your book. Type it in. I put in Watched. Do not use all caps.

Now you can put in a description of your book. (You can wait on this if you want) Think back blurb or the summary you read on the inside jacket of a book. This is what people will read on Amazon and the other sites you choose to send it to. It is what makes a person want to read your book. It sells it for you. You can change this a hundred times if you want to. I used the back blurb of my book. See it here.(scroll to "editorial review")

You can put a subtitle on your book if you want or just leave it blank. I used "Murder was just the beginning". Check out the link to see how they use it on your book page.

You can list a volume number if you like. I chose #1 because it was the first of a series.

Save and Continue

Now we are at the interior file (the text of your book) Whew!!

You can choose the paper color-white or cream. If you choose cream, you limit your choice of book size. I suggest white. But do what you like.

Trim size is your next decision. This is the size of your finished book. Choose a size the printer you are going to use, uses. If you are going to stick with Createspace, you can choose any of the sized they list. I chose 5.06 x 7.81 because I liked some books I had that were that size, but my local printer did not print a book that size, so I switched to 5 X 8, a size they do print. Not sure which to choose? Measure some books at your house and see what sizes you like or check with your local printers to see what sizes they print.

Save and Continue

Do not pick an ISBN yet! Click next at the top of the screen.

On the next page at the bottom you will see a link to file formatting. Click on that. It takes you to a disscussion board for file formatting.  You could read for hours about the pitfalls and problems associated with formatting. Look for a little bit, but then return to the previous page.

Now click on interior templates at the bottom of the page. Find the size book you chose and click on the Formatted template for that size book. Download it. Look over the file. It gives you an idea of how your book should look. Now delete that.

Now download the basic template. It will be blank. Paste your entire manscript into this template. Simply open your document and while holding down the control key, press A. This selects your whole manuscript. Then, while holding the control key, press C. This copies it.

Now go back to the basic template and right click on the mouse and choose paste. Your manuscript is now formatted for the book size you chose.

You may find some problems with the formatting. This is normal. Your page numbers may be off a bit or your chapters a bit off. Maybe your book has a lot more pages now. You can fix the problems for free by using the discussion boards. (We went there earlier. The link is on the page where you chose your book size.)

Go to the boards and ask away. Be patient. While you are waiting for an answer, search for the answer by scrolling through the interior formatting discussions.  If this drives you crazy, then hire createspace to do it for you. I don't think it's worth it. The cheapest option is $299. Maybe you have a friend who knows how to fix it. Don't get in a hurry.

Save this file in the mean time. I'll add a few tips about it on later posts.

You may be a lucky one who's manuscript pasted perfectly. Good for you. It took me a few weeks to get it all right.

Play around with it a little. You can always delete it if you mess it up. Just go back and re-paste into the basic template. No big deal. Play with it. Enjoy the journey.

Happy formatting!

Winner of the Watched Blog Blast for this Blog

Congratulations Rachel D.   You won a signed copy of Watched. Thanks for joining in the fun blog blast! Please email me your address so I can ship the book to you. cindymhogan at yahoo dot com

Everyone- Don't forget to visit cindy's blog to find out if you won the Grand Prize tomorrow.

Celebrate The Release Of Watched With Us

And you could win lots of awesome prizes

                          and learn about             

        Watched,

        the hottest new teen novel,

       while making new friends.

Each of the following blogs is offering a different awesome prize!

(That's 14 prizes!) On this blog you could win a signed copy of Watched!

And the grand prize is a $25 dollar gift card to Amazon.

                  Quick, Fast Entry

Pick a blog, any blog to get started

(just click on the underlined name)

Better hurry! There's only 4 days to enter -Tues., June 21st-Friday, June 24th
 **(Need more details? More complete entry details at the bottom of the page)

1.   Follow Rachelle Writes and leave a comment.   Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Rachelle's blog. (If you do both you get 1 entry into Rachelle's contest and one into the Grand Prize contest-You Must do both to enter either)

2.   Follow A Writer's Reality and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Melissa's blog.

3.   Follow Day Dreamer and leave a comment.

Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Christine's blog.

4.  Follow The Queen of the Clan and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Danyelle's blog.

5.   Follow Jordan McCollum and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Jordan's blog.

6.  Follow The Crazy Daze of Motherhood and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Jane's blog.

7.  Follow I am a Pistachio and leave a comment.

Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Rebecca's blog.

8.   Follow Chasing Dreams and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Tamara's blog.

9.   Follow Ramblings of a Random Writer and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Betsy's blog.

10. Follow Matthew Tandy-The Working Writera nd leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Matthew's blog.

11 Follow Weaving a Tale or Two and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Donna's blog.

12. Follow Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M. Hogan and leave a comment about Tristi's blog.

13. Follow My Yellow Sandbox and leave a comment. Then follow  Cindy M Hogan and leave a comment about Abby's blog.

14. Follow Watched and leave a comment. Then follow Cindy M Hogan and leave a comment about that blog.

13. Enter all 14 contests and you get an extra 5 entries into the Grand Prize Giveaway. (19 entries)

14. That's not all! Get 6 extra entries by buying Watched here (print book) or here (e-book) and sending her a copy of your confirmation cindymhogan at yahoo dot com. Easy peasy.   Wow! That's 25 entries!

           

Have fun and good luck!

**More Details on how to enter

• Click on the blog name
• Follow that blog
• Leave a comment that you were there 
• Jump over to Cindy's blog
• Leave a comment about what you liked about the other blog. 

Congrats! You've entered that blog's contest and earned one entry into the Grand Prize Drawing!

Enter one. Enter two or how ever many you like, but...

If you enter all the blogs' contests you get a bonus 5 entries into the Grand Prize Drawing.
That gives you a total of 19 entries to win the

Grand Prize- A $25 gift card to Amazon.

And don't forget to get your copy of Watched for a bonus 6 entries.
(25 total)

Remember- you only have 4 days to enter.
(Tues, June 21st-Friday, June 24th at midnight)  

and you must comment on both blogs for entry into each contest.

Individual blogs will award prizes on June 25th

The Grand Prize will be awarded on June 28th on Cindy's blog.

Check back to see if you won! You have 2 days to claim your prize.

A big thanks to my awesome friends for joining in on the fun.

1.   Rachelle Writes

2.   A Writer's Reality

3.   Day Dreamer

4.  The Queen of the Clan

5.   Jordan McCollum

6.   The Crazy Daze of Motherhood

7.   I am a Pistachio

8.   Chasing Dreams

9.   Ramblings of a Random Writer

10. Matthew Tandy-The Working Writer

11 Weaving a Tale or Two

12 Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author
13.My Yellow Sandbox
14. Watched

Indie Publishing Secrets series will return next Tues