Electronic Publishing: Single Channel

Morning, all! I would have written this last night, but I was up making Butter Bars for my hubby to take to work and then I wrote before crawling into bed around 1:30 am. Then I woke up at 5:30 when my youngest threw up and whimpered in misery for the next two hours. Yeah. Been one of those days, and it's only 7:56 here.

Enough about my woes. Let's discuss Single channel e-pubbing.

If you've been following the market at all, then you've got a pretty good idea as to what e-pubbing is: the release of your work in digital format through a single venue. And you can probably name the leaders off the top of your head.

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing
Barnes and Noble pubit!
Google ebookstore
Scribd

Each have their advantages and disadvantages (Google is dealing with lawsuits right now), but the basics remain the same.
1. This option is absolutely free. They offer you nothing but a platform and online store for your work.
2. Your royalty is typically 70-85% of your book price, which you set.
3. You have to all the work to transfer and format your work to their unique requirements (and they're all unique).
4. You have to design your own cover, as well as doing all the editing and polishing yourself.
5. You can pull your work at anytime if you get a deal with a traditional publisher, or you just want to do something different.
6. There is no exclusivity agreement--you can publish in one or all of these places.

I hope this series of articles is as helpful to you as it is for me. I've started thinking that publishing a series of short stories I have via ebook would be a good option for me.

Next week we'll talk about e-pubbing on multiple channels, and give you a few questions to think about when you are deciding what road to follow.

By the way, comments on any of my posts the last couple of weeks and today count towards our mini contest!

Toaster Lesson

I knew it was Tuesday, really I did.

The entire day went by in usual Tuesday fashion, you know, slightly less outrageous than Monday. 

At one point I even remember wanting to read the MMW post for the day.

Hmmm. You think it would have hit me then. Tuesday, MMW -my day to post!

Anywaaaay-at least the day is not over.

And I can share my toaster lesson.

I'm not even making this up.

If you don't know by now, I have a thing for Thomas' English Muffins. It's probably the nooks and crannies. That and the real butter I put on them. So most mornings, the toaster and I get along great. Only today, I put the English Muffins in, pushed the plunger (is that the name of it?) and nothing. It didn't stay down, no little blue light came on the side. And certainly no heat came on to toast. That didn't stop me. I kept pushing the tabby-thing down. Once, twice, third time's a charm, right? No. Not even close. I pushed it probably seven more times before the thought registered, It's not working. I'm not sure how many more times I tried because I wasn't counting, but I kept at it, to get it to come to life. Finally, I wiggled the plug, and then held the plug a certain way and what do you know, it worked. I made a mental note to put new toaster on the list. Although, it will probably take me many more days of that routine before I really break down and go buy one. Toasters have a personality and I'm not happy about needing a new one and having to get to know its quirks. Silly, isn't it? I know. But it did get me thinking. I was in denial for a long time, pushing that plunger down and thinking it was going to work. I had to have the realization that it wasn't working before I tried other measures to finally get it to work. I wondered about the other areas of my life where I could do the same thing -like when I put on the same pair of jeans that don't fit (should probably cut back on the real butter I mentioned earlier) and thinking that any day, I'll actually be able to button them. Ha! Or how about asking an unnamed child to pick up toys, as I pick them up myself. If I stop to admit it isn't working, I might be able to change my approach. And finally, I thought of writing. Sometimes my tried and true methods of writing don't produce the results I hoped for and I have to be willing to admit it, change and even learn new skills. Sounds tedious, but what's the alternative? Standing at the counter, staring at cold toast. Not pretty. 

Well, that's my Tuesday. With my toaster malfunction, no wonder I forgot what day it was.

Happy Writing.

How My Son Learned to Enjoy the Scriptures

When I started reading the scriptures to my son, I'd read only a verse or two. His mind was on more important things like pulling on his baby sister's limbs and what can I eat next? After our very succinct scripture reading, I'd repeat the verses in a way a four year-old might understand. (After awhile, he caught on and started interrupting my reading with, "Yes, but what does it MEAN?)

Lately I've found a great online tool that has sparked his interest in the scriptures much better than his boring mom ever did. Remember the scripture storybooks we read as children? There are now narrated videos on lds.org you can watch with the storybook pictures. My son loves it. He's always excited to watch another, and he's learning his stories.

Now this fascination with scripture stories is a blessing to see, but er...it's not so much Moses or Nephi or Captain Moroni that he cares for.

No. It's the...

River of Blood!
Goliath!
Laman and Lemuel!
Evil King Noah!
Korihor!

You get the picture. Whenever I pick out a new story, he asks, "Are there BAD GUYS in it?" Yes, my son only cares for the bad guys in the scriptures, and I can only hope it is not because he wants to emulate them.

Whatever gets him reading the scriptures, right?

(You can also find pages from the storybooks at the same link. Really, if you get started you will find an explosion of tools for your children on lds.org. Some of you may already know this, but as a not-yet seasoned mom, the children's side of our church's website is still pretty new and exciting to me.)

You are Not Alone

source

"There are those among you who, although young, have already suffered a full measure of grief and sorrow. My heart is filled with compassion and love for you. How dear you are to the Church. How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Your Happily Ever After," Ensign, May 2010, 126 

The Wild Queen

by Cheri Chesley

The Wild Queen is the brand new ebook I'm offering as part of the prize package for our CONTEST! I'm launching this ebook right around the first of May 2011.

Here's a little about the story: Roweena is the crown princess of Norvallen, a tiny kingdom with only one thing of value—the Healer’s Grove. The trees in this small section of forest are enchanted, giving a sap that can be mixed into potions or salves to heal almost any wound.

And it’s in high demand.

Lucien, the young king of neighboring Demarde, comes to Roweena’s father seeking an alliance, but comes away with a marriage contract for young Roweena’s hand. Furious and stubborn, this untamed beauty vows he will never conquer her. But the contract purposely gives her time to come to terms with her fate.

It gives her too long. Before Lucien can return, Roweena’s home is attacked and her parents are murdered. The Healer’s Grove is also attacked—burned to the ground. With nothing more than her horse and the clothes on her back, Roweena goes to the only person she knows can help her. Lucien. But he can do nothing with no legal claim to Norvallen, so they marry.

Lucien and his army destroy the invaders and rescue what remains of Roweena’s people. He then makes Norvallen a part of his kingdom, but separate, ruled by a man Lucien trusts who answers only to him.

Roweena tries to carve a piece of life out for herself in Demarde, but her wild ways often clash with Lucien’s calm, reasoning manner. They have a son, Gregory, and then a daughter, Falina. When Roweena is pregnant for the third time, she vanishes. Speculation runs rampant. Was she kidnapped, fallen victim to a mysterious enemy? Or did she run away?

Aside from being an incredibly fun and entertaining story, The Wild Queen is something of a study on what creates a tyrant. Gregory has become one of my most popular characters, and several readers have expressed an interest in his past. And, of course, you can give the credit for my amazing cover to Deirdra Coppel.

Remember that comments on this post will count toward your points tally for the mini-contest, and put you in the running for prizes! Good luck everyone. :)

Guest post...sort of!!

Hi all!  Today Jenni James guest posted for us...on the wrong page!  LOL!  No big deal, just go to our "Where MMW's Hang" resource page and scroll down.  There you will be serenaded by the wonderful Jenni James, you will be glad you went!!  Be sure to check it out!!

"Free" Service PODs

This week I wanted to talk a little bit about "free" service PODs. I say free in quotes because this is still a business. They are still going to require some money to produce your book. However, if you're willing to do most, if not all the work yourself, you could see your book in print for less than other POD options.

It's very similar to the types of companies and programs I talked about last week, but these same companies, plus a few others have options that allow you to choose the help that you want, a la carte. So if you want editing, you can purchase just that.

Along with the things to consider that I included with the previous post, a couple other things are:

1. This is not really "free". It give you the option of picking and choosing the kind of help you are willing to pay for. It still could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to go this route.

2. This has the lowest royalties of all the options, except for the "full service" POD. It still has more of a possible return than than traditional publishers, however.

Here is a brief (but not exhaustive) list of full service and "free service" companies if you want to do some more research on your own:

FULL SERVICE
AuthorHouse
Balboa Press
WestBow Press
Abbott Press
Outskirts Press

FREE SERVICE
CreateSpace
Lulu.com
Amazon POD

There is also another option, called Lightning Source which has none of the stigma attached to self publishing. Lightning Source is a company used by traditional publishers for print on demand services. If you can be a complete professional and still willing to do most of the work yourself, Lightning Source is the cheapest option of all the POD companies, minus any negative impressions about your work.

Next week we'll dig into the ebook single channel world!

(Semi) Personal Thoughts on General Conference

by Tamara Passey

I do two things when I watch General Conference. (Okay maybe more than two if you count helping a five year old stay reverent for hours.) First, I listen for ideas that come to my mind in relation to what is being said. Ideas or thoughts that usually nudge me in a direction I need to be going. Of course I pay attention to the suggestions and counsel of each talk, but I’m usually on the lookout (well, in an internal hearing kind of way) for how to apply it personally to my life.

The second thing I do is pay attention to anything I hear that, (how do I say this?) doesn’t sit well with me –at first.  Are you gasping? Yes, I have heard things from time to time during General Conference that AT FIRST I didn’t understand, wondered why it was being said, or most often, made me uneasy because I knew I needed to change. *sigh* (If you know me and my faults, maybe you are thinking how I could be ‘uneasy’ through all of conference!) Anyway, what I’ve learned to do with the messages, sometimes a sentence, that get my attention –is hang on to them. I make them a matter of prayer. I ponder them. I reread the talk to make sure I understand the context. I take an honest look at why I feel the way I do. I am humbled by how many times this has helped me change. In needed and important ways.

So this post is not going to detail my weaknesses or divulge all my ah-ha moments –blogs are personal, but not THAT personal. But I did want to share what I was thinking during Elder Christofferson’s talk and I thought that having some background—it might make more sense.

If you didn’t see it or hear it, here it is.

Around the 2.40 mark he says this,

"There is an attitude and practice we need to adopt. . . It is this: willingly to accept and even seek correction.”

Did you catch that? EVEN SEEK correction? Yowzers! I’m sure I looked calm sitting with my family, but I got shaky at the thought of seeking correction, you know what I mean? My thoughts raced along something like this. “Oh, I can accept correction. I know I need all the help I can get. Wait, did he just say, SEEK it? Isn’t that asking for trouble? I mean if I go asking for correction won’t I have a whole lot more criticism/advice/suggestions than I can handle? I don’t see why I have to seek it.” 

So there is it was. One little phrase inside a sentence that had me fluttering with protest. Once I realized I was resisting it, I quickly made a mental note, and followed the pattern mentioned above. By sundown of that day, I had a new thought.

            “So why are you worried about seeking correction? Isn’t that what you do with your writing? You want your writing to be the best it can be so you ASK for help, you want people to critique it.”

            Of course, asking for correction about the way I live my life might be a little harder. But eternally more important.

So I’m grateful today for my love of writing and the hard work it takes to get better at it, and how that process has helped me be a little less scared at accepting and even seeking correction in real life (you know, because writing is all make believe!) And I’m sharing this today because I thought maybe some fellow writers out there might be able to relate.

Whose Name We Bear

by Jessie Oliveros

I hope everyone had a great General Conference weekend! I always feel so spiritually renewed after listening to General Conference. There is also this wonderful spiritual energy knowing that Saints all over the world are listening to the same talks and feeling the same Spirit at the same time.

A couple members of my family were lucky enough to attend the Saturday morning session at the Conference Center. I wish I could have been there, but I am so grateful that I can listen to General Conference in my own living room. Plus, all those conference talks I missed because my children were screaming or I was feeding them or putting my baby down for naps (or um, dozing off myself which may have happened once)...well, I can watch them on the Internet. How blessed we are by technology!

I always love Elder Uchtdorf's talks, and this time was no exception. I took a few notes, and what really stood out to me were his words on sharing the gospel. He said (approximate quote) "Testimony of truth is given to those that share it." I KNOW there is much room for my testimony to grow, and I think that this is an essential ingredient that I've often left out. To be honest, I'm afraid of sharing because I'm afraid of how people will take it. But Elder Uchtdorf said that we shouldn't be wary of sharing our testimony because we have a GLAD message, a message of JOY.

We do have a joyful message! Sometimes I forget this...even for my own benefit. I forget to take joy in what I know, which is amazing and eternal and beautiful.

He also spoke of true discipleship, of remembering whose Name we bear. Which is really behind everything we do and stand for...including what we do on our blogs and in our writing. Sometimes it seems easy to just read and write and say what is trendy in our chosen calling as writers, but how then do we stand apart? Without Christ, our gifts are nothing--dust. Let us not forget whose Name we bear!

It's a CONTEST!

Seriously, this is like the longest blog post EVER. But it is well worth your time. Stick it out and keep reading through to the end!

We have been really excited at Mormon Mommy Writers to see our Followers growing. In the last few months we’ve passed the 200 mark! Hopefully, this means that you guys find something of value in our daily posts (even if it is a good laugh at our attempts to sound knowledgeable).

Because of this we wanted to do something special. Something to show our readers (you) how much we appreciate your support. So....we are going to hold the first ever (and hopefully first annual) Mormon Mommy Writers Fiction Contest. You heard right, folks. We’re holding a super-duper fiction contest!

Hurry and get your excited screaming out of the way and then I’ll continue.


.......

Okay, have you contained your excitement?

Good. First things first. The fiction contest will run from today, April 2, through May 31. Submissions will be accepted until midnight, mountain standard time, on May 31. Winners will be announced June 15.

Be prepared to get even more excited. The culmination of this contest is the publication of an ebook. That’s right. You could see your writing in digital print! We will guarantee the top three winners a spot in the ebook. And, depending on the quality and quantity of submissions, we will select more to be included in the compilation. But we’ll get into those details with another post.

Before I get to the technical stuff let’s cover what the prizes are: 


1st Place--The first place winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and three ebooks in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


2nd Place--The second place winner will receive a $20 Amazon gift card and two ebooks in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


3rd Place--The third place winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card and one ebook in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


**All other submissions accepted for inclusion in the compilation will receive a free copy of the MMW ebook Totally Cliché.

Now that you’re excited (and I’ve got your attention) let’s get down to business. Here’s the contest breakdown: (Warning, it’s long.)


1.  Our theme will be Totally Cliché. What this means is we want you to go out there and have some fun with one or more of the many banned writing clichés out there (you know, the things agents and publishers supposedly hate). For example you could begin your story with “It was a dark and stormy night.” Or, your hero could be “tall, dark, and handsome.” You get the picture. The more creative your spin on the cliché the better your chances (though good writing will always win the day). Pick any cliché you like and have fun!


2.  The word count is 3500 or less. This count includes body, title and author’s name. 3500. No more. Not a word.


3.  Content must be clean. We will be the first to admit that this is completely subjective. Our version of clean may not reflect yours. So here’s a general rule of thumb:  No swearing. No gratuitous sex (never thought I’d post that line). No vulgar romantic stuff. And no graphic violence. The characters DO NOT have to be LDS. We’re open to a lot. Just make the content clean. Show us how creative you can be. Warning: any attempt to glorify inappropriate behavior, for example drug use, will get you booted from the contest.


4.  Every writer is welcome to submit up to two stories.


5.  There are no professional restrictions. This means entries will be accepted from both published and unpublished authors alike. Everyone will be judged on the same things so make sure your work shines! 


6.  Any and all submissions must be the original work of the submitter. By entering the contest, each participant accepts responsibility for any liability incurred by false claims of authorship. (Technical enough for ya?) Submissions cannot be previously published anywhere, including online, and cannot be subject to publishing rights from other parties.


7.  The big question: Who can submit? Answer: Anyone. That’s right, even those of you with a Y chromosome are welcome to enter your work (i.e. men). Really, we hope that you do! Religious affiliation does not matter and will have no bearing on the judging. Anyone and everyone who feels inclined to participate is welcome to do so. Don’t let our name stop you.


8.  Judging will be done by the seven contributors of this blog.


9.  Stories selected for the compilation are subject to first publishing rights only. We reserve the right to include the work in unlimited ebook sales with no hold beyond that. Since we can’t guarantee any sales of this compilation anymore than we can guarantee a profit beyond our incurred expenses, there will be no compensation beyond the prizes listed above, monetary or otherwise.

Guidelines for Submitting

1.  Submissions should be emailed to: mormonmommywriters@gmail.com

2.  The subject line should read Totally Cliché.

3.  The top of the email should look almost EXACTLY like this:

Fanny Price (Your name)

fprice@janeausten.com (Your email address)

fannywrites.blogspot.com (Your web or blog address---if you have one)

Word Count

Cliché(s) you are using

4.  Below your personal information, paste (do not attach) your submission. Please include the title and author name before the body of the story.

Contest within a Contest

To help spread the word we are going to hold a little mini contest along with the fiction contest. The winner of this contest will get a $10 gift card to Amazon. Sound good?

To enter this contest do one or more of the following—the more you do the more points you earn and the better your chance of winning:

1.  Paste the contest button on your blog. (You can find it in this post and on the sidebar--to your right.)

2.  Become a follower.

3.  Comment about the contest on Facebook.

4.  Tweet about the contest.

5.  Write a post about the contest.

6.  Comment on any or some or all of the posts about the contest. (There will be multiple posts throughout the contest period so you have lots of chances.)

7.  Like us on Facebook.

It’s simple to enter. But you must let us know in a comment what you’ve done so that we can check. If you don’t tell us, we won’t know and you won’t be entered. If you’re already a follower or you already like us on Facebook that will count in your favor so long as you let us know. At midnight on May 31 we will tally the points and hold a drawing. The winner will be announced on June 1.

•••••••••

So, that’s the gist of our contest in several, rather large, nut shells. Through the following weeks we will take you on the journey with us from researching ebooks to the actual digital publication. We know the self-publishing route is a hot topic right now. A lot of writers are taking into consideration this new possibility and we’d like the opportunity to educate not just ourselves but our readers as well. So, stick with us as we explore this new and exciting digital world!

Now go start writing! This is the chance to indulge your secret love of clichés. Why wait?