WRITING PROGRESS

HE CAME FOR ME

BOOK ONE IN THE PROTECTOR SERIES

http://www.amazon.com/He-Came-Book-One-Protector/dp/1447875591/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1422879701&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=he+came+for+me+book+one+in+the+protector+serieshttps://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82996
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/he-came-for-me-book-one-in-the-protector-series-c.-m.-brown/1113030642?ean=2940011475573

HE CAME FOR MINE

 BOOK TWO IN THE PROTECTOR SERIES

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82996         http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/he-came-for-mine?keyword=he+came+for+mine&store=ebook




Wednesday 7 November 2012

RESURRECTION BLOGFEST





















In this first year of bloggery, before I'd connected with other bloggers and attracted regular readers, I posted stuff which never got the attention I felt it deserved. I was sure I couldn't be the only blogger who felt that way. Only, you might feel kinda lame just trotting out an old post, fearing accusations of laziness (if you're neurotic, or, in fact, lazy). (Like I am.) So I thought I'd just host a blogfest so I could resurrect a piece from my first year of blogging. (Yeah, I know there's Linked Within, but there's no certainty folks'll click on your older stuff to check it out, now is there?)




HERE IS MY ENTRY FOR THE 
RESURRECTION BLOGFEST

It is one of the very first posts I wrote and I linked it to the Smashwords site to win a mug. I never did receive that mug!
 It was posted  on 8/28/2011
 This post received my very first comment in the Blogging World and it was from
Stephanie from Books are Cool




1Comment count     
620View count

Over time this blog has received 620 views but no new comments....
I think for someone new to blogging that this post had lots of 
useful information contained within it! 
What do you think?

Smashwords make it easy!!!                         


I am a new author who has only just used Smashwords to publish my book in the last week and I have found the site to be the most amazing tool to use!

From my understanding of reading the Smashwords FAQ some people have all sorts of problems and receive error messages for their formatting.  I must have been one of the lucky ones!  I followed the Smashwords Style Guide carefully, to format my book, making sure not to hit the enter key more times than necessary at the end of each line and paragraph. By turning on the Show Hide Key in Microsoft Word I was able to see my formatting as I typed.  I decided not to indent my paragraphs as I believe it looks untidy on the page, but I did add ***~~~*** to skip back and forth between my characters. 

The only problem I had was that I was eager and forgot to save my file as a Microsoft Word .doc file before uploading.  I corrected this easily by following the instuctions in the Smashwords Style Guide and then when I pressed the Publish Tab to proceed to upload my book to Smashwords, I had the thrill of watching each version being processed and approved on my computer screen as I watched.

The Smashwords Publish upload also takes all the hassel out of trying to publish your own book. Just by following the process step by step all angles are covered, even the legal ones. The process takes you through the usual questions, but Smashwords can also assign your book an ISBN number at no cost to you or you can purchase one through them if you wish. These questions are asked as you continue the process to upload your precious work.

Smashwords also cover any IRS questions you may have, especially if you are an author using the site to publish your work in a country outside of the United States of America, as I am.  During the process of publishing you are asked if you are from a country outside of the US and by answering yes, further information is shown on the page informing you about the formal part of requesting an ITIN. The information is given in easy to follow language and takes the worry away! You can also read about the legal side of things in the FAQ. I had previously downloaded the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide prior to publishing my book and decided which Marketing tips I would use.  I had never used a Blog page or Facebook before but decided to start this blog page and my illustrator created a page link to my book http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82996?ref=CMBrown attaching it to her Facebook page. I am still learning about other tips to market my book but I recommend reading the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide to make your own choices.

I found out about Smashwords through my local library.  I was lucky enough one day to walk in and find a notice about an information session on publishing eBooks, which was being held there by a local artist. I immediately made a booking and attended the session most convenient to me. I came away enlightened and as I was so close to finishing my book the timing could not have been more right! It must have been karma as I had also around this time attended the blessing by the Dalai Lama at the opening of the Stumpa at Chenrezig.

From this information session at my local library, I found out that the Australian Government had given a grant to Judy Barass to inform new writers how to publish eBooks. Judy Barass could not say better things about Smashwords and encouraged her audience to persue eBook publishing using Smashwords, as they took all the effort away from independent puplishers and made it easy! (I also came away feeling that my work would be safe in the hands of Smashwords).

It has only been one week since I uploaded my book to the Smashwords site for publishing and three days ago it had already been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalogue and has been shipped on to some of the connecting distributers Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and Deisel. I am amazed at just how quickly and efficiently the process has been. It could not have been made easier!!

View my book at Smashwords through this link:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82996?ref=CMBrown 

 Cover for 'He Came For Me! Book One in 'The Protector Series''


He Came For Me! Book One in 'The Protector Series'
Ebook Price: $1.99 USD. 54240 words. Fiction by Carolyn Brown on August 21, 2011
star star star star star (5.00 from 1 review)
Jazz, driving on her way to TAFE one morning is passed by a gorgeous guy in a red Mazda Rx7. Caught at the stop lights ahead, she finds herself drawn to this stranger as he watches her in his rear view mirror. From the moment she meets him in person her life begins to change! Why does he always seem to be close by, could he be stalking her? Or was their meeting totally innocent?

Thanks,

Carolyn



11 comments:

L.G. Keltner said...

I agree that there's a lot of good information in this post. Definitely useful. Thanks for sharing!

L.G. Keltner said...

This post definitely has lots of useful information. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by L.G.

Elise Fallson said...

This is a great post for anyone thinking about self publishing with Smashwords. I'm not at that stage yet with my wip, but it's nice to know others have gone through it and are here to help. (: And thanks for co-hosting IWSG!

Siobhan said...

I've published something on Smashwords myself. The formatting of the manuscript is definitely trickier to do on Smashwords than say Kindle, because they're more strict, so it took me a while to get my work up there, but definitely a great experience! New follower here.

M Pax said...

I don't have any problems with Smashwords either, but have writer friends who do. I told them next time to send the ms to me. I rarely get vetter errors. Altho, I do find mistakes in the ms and then upload a new version. :D Or sometimes I want the error on purpose...

StratPlayerCJF said...

I've heard mixed reviews about Smashwords, so I'm a little hesitant. But I really appreciate the info. I may end up checking it out.

Well, I still have to actually FINISH a book before I can use any form of publishing, but that's kinda besides the point... ;^)

Unknown said...

Elise, Siobhan - Thanks, I am glad the Smashwords post has sparked some interest

Mary - When I published recently the second time with Smashwords, I found it just as easy, too!

Chris - Thanks for stopping by

Georgina Morales said...

Thanks for that helpful info! I like Smashwords and I think it can never hurt to get your book in as many venues as you possibly can. Great post!

Mina Lobo said...

This is great info for those considering (or on the fence about) publishing with Smashwords. Thanks for resurrecting it (and participating in my blogfest)!
Some Dark Romantic

Jolie du Pre said...

I've never posted a book on Smashwords, but I know a lot of authors who do.

Total Pageviews

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by MĂ©moires, journal software. Analyze your writing!


A-Z APRIL CHALLENGE 2014

A-Z APRIL CHALLENGE 2014
SURVIVOR

THE PROTECTOR SERIES ON GOODREADS

C.M. Brown's books on Goodreads
He Came For Me He Came For Me (The Protector, #1)
reviews: 19
ratings: 20 (avg rating 3.30)

He Came for Mine He Came for Mine (The Protector, #2)
reviews: 2
ratings: 3 (avg rating 3.67)