eBook Architects and our EBook

So, eBook Architects came through for my writer S.O. and I in a big way last week. For $210 we had the galley PDF converted into a file for Smashwords Premium files (available for ALL e-book readers and computers) and a file for Kindle. I also paid $125 for our own ISBN for the e-book file. This is not something we had to do, so we could have had everything for $210. I bought the ISBN for the electronic book (not through eBook Architects) so that in the future, if we parted from AuthorHouse with the paperback/ hardcover editions of the novel, we wouldn't have to worry about the electronic book- the ISBN belongs to us, not another publishing company. We are truly 100% self-publishers of the e-book.

Now comes the hard part: selling. Uploading the documents to Smashwords and Amazon Kindle was relatively easy. However, in the past 7 days, we've only sold 2 copies on Smashwords and had 6 free sample downloads (awesome perk on Smashwords: you can allow anyone to download a portion of your book for free to sample before buying). That means I'll have to invest more time and possibly money into advertising, neither of which I have much of now, but perhaps after the holiday season. Bad news on Amazon front: their system says it will take them 24-72 hours to check you book and make it available for Kindles. It's been a week, and I'm still getting the same message. At the same time, on Smashwords, someone can download a Kindle version of the book. Frustrating.

I will keep readers updated on experiences with sales and marketing, but I do recomment eBook Architects. The owner of the company was VERY easy to work with and saved me a LOT of stress. Hopefully it will pay off monetarily in the future as well. :)

Evolution of a Blog

So, I've been blogging for the past month or so about once a week. Really, I'd like to be blogging more frequently, but as this blog originated to vent the frustrations and celebrate the triumphs of my and my S.O.'s venture into writing and publishing, I've realized that, as with everything in life, there are droughts and floods. My writing has slowed (this week= zero blog entries. sad.) with my own busyness AND simply with a slow period for either frustrations or triumphs. The S.O. is writing. I am waiting to hear about the e-book copy of Novel #1. I follow the blogs of writers and agents. I keep up with my Twitter. Between these different events and circumstances, I'm not always bitten by the writer's bug- a feeling shared by all those out there who are actually working on writing short stories, novels and poetry, too, I'm sure. So here is what I will be attempting during the month of December (and it will take time, folks! No promises of instant success;)):

1) I am going to push myself, like all writers must, to work more on consistency, relevance, and quality of my own blog posts.

2) I am going to pursue interviews with writers, especially new writers, who will have something unique to offer my audience.

3) I am going to pursue guest bloggers from different areas of writing and publishing, which will also bring new, relevant and interesting information to my audience.

4) I am going to seek out requests from my audience on this blog and Twitter regarding what readers would actually like to read about.

As per #4, please comment below or email towriteandpublish@gmail.com regarding any requests for a blog entry or interview.

Thanks!