Want more reviews? Great reviews?
We all do. But there’s a limit to how we go about getting them.
The big seven Naughty Tactics
If you’re doing any of these, you could wind up (quickly) in Amazon’s Naughty Books (and yes, I have seen all of these):
Showing posts with label kindle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kindle. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Fed up with Kindle Kids’ Book Creator? Try this free, easy 5-step alternative.
Scared to try doing Kindle books because you’re no techie? Or have you decided that the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator isn’t the software for you (Here are 5 reasons why it isn’t.) but don’t know what to use instead?
Relax.
Seriously, there is an alternative. And it’s easy, free, and doesn’t need much more than a working knowledge of Microsoft Word. It may even be easier than the KDP Kids’ Book Creator software itself. (Besides being waaaay more flexible.)
These days, for many of my ebooks, I’m using two simple tools: Microsoft Word and a free ebook conversion program called Calibre.
I’ve been using Calibre for years and never realized it could not only open and save ebooks but also help create them.
NOTE: I’m talking about picture books here. For longer-format and nonfiction ebooks, you should probably do them entirely in Scrivener ($40, Literature & Latte). (Here’s a post about how I use Scrivener.)
I’m going to walk you through my process, in 5 steps I think you can handle and maybe actually enjoy, with a little practice.
Friday, January 16, 2015
The disappointment: 5 reasons I’m not using Kindle Kids’ Book Creator software anymore
Remember how excited I was when Amazon/Kindle released their Kids’ Book Creator software?
And hey, no wonder! The thing is relatively fast and easy to use, and can turn any book in PDF form into a Kindle ebook with a snap of your fingers. So many of us lack the technical skills to transform our books that this software totally seemed like magic at first.
Unfortunately, the magic died pretty quickly. You can get a sense of that even from the comments on my original post.
I did use the Kids Book Creator to convert a few of my print books to ebook form. But I’m doing things differently now (more on that later), and will be changing over the ones I did using the Kindle Kids Book Creator as I have a chance.
Here are, not one, but FIVE great big ugly reasons why I won’t be using Kindle Kids’ Book Creator anymore. And maybe you shouldn't, either.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The dark evil flipside of freebies: BAD reviews.
There are lots of reasons you might want to offer your books for free. But there are some reasons you DON’T want to as well.
Such as… BAD REVIEWS.
Here’s the thing about human nature: most of us have this built-in complaint reflex. As long as things are going okay… then okay! We coast along, enjoying our lives.
But when something comes along that we don’t love – that’s when it kicks in.
What that means, practically speaking, is that you could buy and read 100 books and not write a single review. But then, along comes one that rubs you the wrong way and – “Oh, boy, get out of my way… I need to review this thing NOW before anyone else buys this book!”
Friday, January 2, 2015
Why give your books away for free?
How do you feel about freebies?
When I posted about how I use KDP Freebies, I got some very intense reactions. Some people were angry that readers have come to expect freebies, others mystified – wondering why writers would bother to offer them. One response was sort of a cross between the two: angry AND mystified.
Nothing's free in this world, so why should our product be free?
That’s what this person asked, and in a way, I totally agree with what I think she’s trying to say. We work hard to write our stuff. And we want to make money writing. So how does it help us to give it away for free?
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Coping with the KDP Freebie Juggling Act: a simple 2-step system
Are you giving it away for free?
If your books are exclusive through Amazon’s Kindle Select program through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), they make it oh-so-easy to give away books for free. They make it sound like a privilege, even. Like it’s going to do tons for your books’ sales and your author ranking.
Will it really?
One school of thought, let’s call them School A, says – “No, no, no! Never give it away for free! Offering freebies trains your “loyal” readers to pay nothing for your books. That’s terrible. Don’t do it!”
The other school of thought, School B, says (equally loudly) – “Yes, yes, yes! Giving books away for free will help new readers find your books. They will become loyal readers! Free books ‘hook’ them in, like a sample at the supermarket. If they like it, they’re sure to come back and buy more (for actual money).”
As a fairly new writer trying to get established, I’m somewhere in between. I do think freebies help get attention I wouldn’t get otherwise. So I’m still doing them.
I don’t like keeping secrets. I’m going to share what I’m doing here, but I’ll be honest: I don’t really know yet if it’s working. I hope this will be the start of a conversation, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
If you have more than a couple of books enrolled in KDP select, you need a way to keep track of which ones are free at any given time. That’s where this simple 2-step system comes in. Follow these steps, and you’ll never get mixed up again. You’ll also be able to reward your loyal followers with a chance at getting hold of these.
Here’s how I set up my KDP freebies:
Monday, November 24, 2014
Caution, Rant: spammy spammers spamming stupid “Children’s Books” in their KDP listing title.
Every once in a while, I’ve just got to rant. Maybe you know the feeling?
Today’s rant is about that growing breed of Kindle kids’ ebooks that have almost more title than actual book. I’m sure you know the ones: the cover of the book has maybe a five-word title, but the title of the book as shown on its Amazon listing is a mile long, like this:
Children books : MARGARET AND THE DONUT: (Explore the Galaxy kids book exclusive collection) (Super-Duper eBook)Sleep & Playtime Books(Short Story) (Bedtime ... Books for Babby & Toddler Readers #15) [Kindle Edition]
You think I’m joking?
Monday, November 3, 2014
Ebook non-fiction: 3 rules to hook readers (and keep them coming back).
Ever felt like you couldn’t compete?
Want to know how your books can rise to the top?
Head over to Amazon and you’ll find a virtual deluge of nonfiction kids’ ebooks, and they’re not going away anytime soon. Most are awful, a relic of the Kindle “gold rush.” They repurpose free information, slap on free pictures, and charge anywhere between $.99 and $3.99 to call it a “book.”
I’ve recently converted a couple of the projects I created as a homeschooler into nonfiction ebooks, and discovered along the way that I really love writing kids’ nonfiction. It’s even a little addictive once you get started. I love creating books that teach kids about the world – in a fun way, so that ideally, they won’t realize they’re learning a thing.
So how do you do that in a way that doesn’t turn them off? Or even do it in a way that keeps them coming back for more? Don’t worry, it’s not as tough as it sounds (unlike getting them to line up for a second helping of green beans).
Staying afloat
Sure, it’s tough to stay above the tide. It’s easy to despair when you see the numbers: There is just so much out there, and more every day.
But I do believe that quality will rise to the top… or at least, some elusive mix of quality plus quantity. If you publish a single Kindle ebook, it may not succeed, no matter how great it is. But if you publish a whole series of them, and you acquire a loyal audience who enjoys reading them… then, I believe you will.
So how do you pick up that loyal following?
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Dear Amazon, what’s up with my Kindle prices?
How much thought do you put into pricing your books?
If you’re like me, it’s a lot. Which is why it finally drove me around the bend that Amazon has been changing all my prices, without even asking nicely.
When you’re pricing a book, you probably pick a nice, clean number with a 99 on the end, a suffix that is invisible to consumers. If a book is $8.74 (unless it’s clearly marked down, like from $9.99), it’ll stand out and look weird.
Know how I know? Because for a long time, I’ve noticed that Amazon prices for my KDP ebooks look terrible. They totally jump off the page. Oh, they’re close to the numbers I’ve picked… but not exactly. And that has slowly been driving me mad.
Just to pick a few titles at random, the prices were $5.11, $1.12, $5.14, $1.13. Those are terrible numbers, numbers that jump off the page and make a buyer reluctant to buy. That’s very frustrating, especially because I KNEW I’d priced them at $4.99, 99 cents, $4.99 and 99 cents.
Why bother planning your prices if they’re just going to change, am I right?
What’s going on here?
I eventually found out why this happens. If you’re outside the United States, Amazon can tell from your browser’s IP address, and they adjust the price you see accordingly. Without telling me, Amazon has been detecting my computer’s location and adjusting the prices accordingly.
At least there’s some GOOD news: buyers inside the U.S. will most likely see the right prices for your books, namely, the ones you’ve so carefully chosen in KDP’s dashboard.
To test this, I ran my author page through two “anonymizers,” sites that hide your current IP address so nobody can tell where you’re surfing from. One was in Europe and one was in the U.S.
Here’s what the pricing looks like from each location:
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Free-BEE! Free Kindle book on Amazon.com
My favourite price in the world: free. And my favourite thing in the world: a kids’ book. (Yes, one of mine.)
I don’t usually cross-post, but in this case, I’m making an exception so I can get the word out across all my sites:
Please Like, Share and pass along this deal. FREE UNTIL AUGUST 14 ONLY!
Learn a little about Israel's modern history and its most beloved songwriter in this short kids' chapter book! This week (Aug 10-14), my book "Naomi Shemer: Teaching Israel to Sing" is FREE for Kindle.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE KINDLE VERSION FREE UNTIL AUGUST 14.
I started writing this book when my daughter, named after Naomi Shemer, was a baby… but only finished it last year, when she was 8. A long time in the making, but I think it’s worth every second. (And I loved reading it to her and telling her about the amazing lady for whom she’s named.
Acclaimed in her lifetime as the "First Lady of Israeli Song" and the author of unforgettable classics like Jerusalem of Gold (Yerushalayim shel Zahav), Naomi Shemer is almost unknown in the English-speaking world. With its engaging, straighforward narrative, this book opens the world of Naomi Shemer for the first time to English-speaking children and their parents. Come find out what made her special.
(I'd also love to get some reviews up, so if you and your kids read/enjoy it, please leave an honest review to help others.)
Here are some shots from the paperback version of the book:
Enjoy!
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE KINDLE VERSION FREE UNTIL AUGUST 14.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Who’s Jeff Gunhus and what makes him a self-publishing success story? (a mini-interview)
How did I find out about Jeff?
Well, his self-publishing success story was featured a couple of weeks ago on Amazon’s home page. And when a self-publishing kids’-book author is highlighted right up there in lights, I sit up and pay attention.
You’ll be happy I did.
It turns out that his Jack Templar Monster Hunter series of kids’ books aren’t the only self-publishing Jeff has done.
In fact, two of his novels have brought his AuthorRank up to #52 in Kindle eBooks for Horror, a very crowded genre (to give you some idea of who he’s up against, Stephen King is at #1).
That’s why we need to pay attention to what Jeff’s doing right. Jeff’s done two things (at least) to set himself apart from the crowd:
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
FREE Kindle “Dinosaurs” e-book – today & tomorrow only!
Want a cool FREE way to check out your book’s competition? Download it free from Amazon. And sometimes, even if a book is not at all like yours, you’ll learn a thing or two.
I’m planning a full-fledged review of Emma Child’s high-quality self-published Kindle books (also recently featured in this post about using Internet and stock photos in children’s books)… but in the meantime, I didn’t want you to miss out, because her Dinosaurs book is FREE from Amazon today and tomorrow (June 4 and 5) only.
Click here to “buy” this e-book – absolutely free before June 5th.
Not to spoil the review but – though I have found several typos in her books – Emma’s doing a lot right and we should all take a look at her books if we’re planning to publish Kindle e-books.
In particular, what I enjoy (compared to some other Kindle e-books) is that the captions are part of the photographs, so they never scroll off the page. Also, the facts are truly interesting, and don’t talk down to kids.
Anyway, it’s free, so get clicking, quick… you’ll never regret putting in work on those “comps”, I promise!
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