Archive for self-publishing
Using Drop Caps in your ePub and Kindle eBooks
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I just discovered the Tips website of fellow member of LinkedIn and wanted to share … how to go that extra mile in formatting your book for ePub and Kindle.
I have not tried this yet, but I’ve thought about it often and seen many old ebooks with this feature not working! I use MSWord so it may be a challenge. I’ll keep you posted 
Link for Drop Caps
Also check out Marks’s website for other great tips. I’ve registered to “follow” him so I don’t miss anything!
An additional tip on same subject from Cathryn Isakson on LinkedIn:
“If you fiddle around with the font size in the dropcap definition, you can get the baseline of the dropcap to align with the baseline of your paragraph text. In my last ebook, I also added a subtle colour to the dropcap and it came up well.”
How to format eBook Images in ePub
Posted by: | CommentsAh, the joy of it! We were having endless problems formatting our kids chapter books into ePub format with Smashwords. Today it was solved thanks to the very detailed tips by Paul Salvette. We had gotten so frustrated we had given up, but today I did a search for the issue and found Paul’s website. Now, thankfully, all is right with the world!
One of our issues has been no Chapter of Contents showing up,
another was text changing formatting and some of illustrations not appearing.
We thought we had followed Smashwords’ Style Guide explicitly but it still didn’t work.
Thanks Paul, we are in your debt.
Follow his instructions to the exact detail and you should have success too … and this helps a myriad of problems in books without images!!
Good luck.
I needed more editing time … just get on with it!
Posted by: | CommentsRepublished from our old blog but still time appropriate:
Yes, the manuscript achieved its first deadline and went to the printer (Friesens in Canada). I mean, we don’t play around, these books are printed for real not POD (print on demand … translated aka one-at-a-time). We tried that with our first book and it wasn’t worth the money etc. We also tried a small POD print run a couple years ago (for our galley copies) and weren’t happy with the quality … a year later when we ran into them and complained, they told us they were having trouble with their printing press. In fairness, they did reprint the copies we had left but their effort was too little too late. POD has come a long way, but we’re not ready for it just yet.
We have always given our readers the best bang for their buck and that’s one reason they are repeat customers. This requires a bit of extra effort and expense. It also means that if you don’t get it right the first time it can add hundreds, perhaps thousands of extra $ onto your next printing costs. That doesn’t count the lost sales due to poor quality and perhaps most important … bad critique from readers. Believe me, that kind of news travels fast these days.
But I digress, the subject is my editing. Actually, the issue was my lack of (time to do the) editing. This is something like the TV show I love to watch … Flip This House … a husband and wife team take a product and under a tight time schedule turn an old house (read unfinished book) into a dream house (read money-making novel)! Hey I like that analogy and, yes, I often get ideas from watching TV!!
Race For A Treasure - our latest (2008) stand-alone co-written novel was planned to arrive for an early November deadline to begin our Christmas Craft Show season – well our plans began going awry as soon as we sent it to the printer. One of those unforeseeable problems arose and after some extra work with the printer, it is finally on track but will be 1-2 weeks late!
I have to hand it to Friesen’s thought, they have done their darndest to keep me on track!
So, the lesson for this issue … you must get it right the first time!! Time wasn’t on my side this year and it’s hard to admit to my husband and our eagerly waiting fans that I am not Super Woman after all!!
During the editing process there is so much to deal with that time can easily get away from you. Your brain can only work so quickly (especially when you’re in that ‘senior’ category). You simply do your best, BUT make sure it produces a book you are proud to put your name on and it hasn’t cost you your last $.
The editing process is so complicated and I have so much to share while it’s still fresh in my mind … let’s make it a separate issue … so until next time.
Happy editing and publishing.
Part 3: Can a self-published author (of fiction) succeed?
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Yes, we made mistakes …
I have only just begun this new blog format on my own website which has been around for many years. I seem to feel a need to share with you my 13+ years worth of experiences, yes, including our mistakes! If this introduces more people to our books in the process then I am doing a good job. The bonus for readers (and us) it that with our books in ebook format, they are now more readily and cheaply available.
I have never joined author’s groups, although I have attended a few. Time has always seemed unavailable and they weren’t really my bag. People wanted to know what we had done to be so successful and although we did talk to groups in the early days, we found it took too much of our time. Besides, my husband was the only author in those early days, even though I had been a ‘writer’ since a teenager. I preferred to work alone and became the home-office workhorse. I end up sitting here day and night filling my time with ‘work’ of one sort or another and love it! A publisher’s life is filled with many things especially when they wear ALL the hats in the company!! So now, through this blog, I am trying to give back more than I have been able to in past years. Now, I trust you will pick up something useful …
Our 1st mistake was the title of our first book. Lizzie: Lethal Innocence … we didn’t think of all the connotations … who would have known so many people would think it was about Lizzie Borden. People make snap judgements without even thinking. It says on the cover the book is set in England and most people know Lizzie Borden lived in the USA. This made us realize we had to ‘talk up’ our books like crazy if we were to get the correct info out there. We even considered changing the title before the next printing but the cover and title were already well known and we still felt it was a good title! Lizzie was ‘lethal’ because she was so smart, as they would find out soon enough, and she was ‘innocence’ because she was so young.
Yes, the word ‘lethal’ compounded this misconception and made people think the book was about violence. How wrong they were and we knew we had to try to explain it quickly to people or we wouldn’t sell many more books beyond the first 500. It worked … but it was very time consuming being at markets, taking Robert away from his writing and me away from editing and office work. So after a few seasons we got into a rhythm and simply made it work for us.
Our 2nd mistake was getting too confident and ordering too many copies!!! Sales were going along so great in those first years that we ordered another print run in 2004. The second and third books, Lizzie’s Secret Angels and Streets of Hope, were doing well and I was editing the fourth and final book.
The problem began when we started writing about local history and readers now had a choice. Now the majority of readers were opting for the Victoria Chronicles’ book, Bound by Loyalty, instead of Lizzie. We still have many boxes of the first three books in our basement. I didn’t order as many for book four, thankfully. Lizzie sales have actually been picking up again in 2011/11 as readers discover how much they like Robert’s style.
Check out our Book SPECIALS Page and get the whole set of 4 Lizzie books for the price of 3!! You could also do what many people are now doing … order the ebooks. At least we do get a commission although it is somewhat smaller than with the paper copy. However, they are more desirous to order all 4 books once they have started the series!
So be very careful how many copies you order if you are doing POD (Print on Demand) or ordering large runs from a traditional printer (Friesens) like we did.
As self or indie publishing becomes even more popular due to ebooks, everyone seems to want to or is told they should ‘write a book’ so the competition has grown fierce. We continue as in the past with no plan to now stop in the near future. We now tell people of our exciting new option of ebooks at Amazon.kindle, Kobo.com, Sony.com, Smashwords.com (all formats) etc. If you want to help us out … especially if you are NOT a USA citizen, we actually get double the commission if Kindle books are purchased through Smashwords! Thanks.
We’re hoping Kindle will make some changes to their format (so other ereaders (kobos, ipods, ipads etc.) can ‘read’ kindle ebooks) and also to their payment standards for international authors, in the near future.
Part 2: Can a self-published author (of fiction) succeed?
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Publishing our first book, Lizzie: Lethal Innocence
Our first book was ‘Lizzie‘ and the print run was 500 copies (Dec 1998). This was the recommended ‘test’ print run in those days and was the only printing we have ever had to borrow money for … and it was our own!! “Part 1″ explained the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing via a large publisher, today referred to as ‘professional publishers.’ I don’t give them capitals because I, myself, am also a ‘professional publisher and feel I have earned the title too!’
The loan lasted only 3 months … the time it took Robert to gain the confidence to sell 500 copies of our first novel at coffee shops, grocery store lineups, the recycling depot etc.. We even had money in the bank at this point and printed our next run of 1,500 copies of the same book! The following year we printed a further 4,000 copies (they were selling like hotcakes as word-of-mouth spread!).
The sequel to ‘Lizzie,’ Lizzie’s Secret Angels was launched on April 1st with a big party at the Victoria Art Gallery. 
This was the only ‘book launch’ we ever planned – there simply was never enough time. Besides which, one of the things we did for marketing was to collect their contact information and this was before the Internet! We began by phoning and sending snail mail to our customers and then later, used email. Our launches happened regularly after that, each year at a market or Christmas Show. It worked well enough for us.
I was early on to receive the math lesson from my husband that graduating to larger print runs meant less money paid up front and more in our pockets with each book sold. We began selling from our booth at markets (1999), craft fairs (1999), and the ferry terminal (2000). We have never looked back!!! Of course, the icing on the cake was when we reached 5,000 copies in the first 2 years (Canadian standards for a bestseller).
I hear there are not many indie-publishers that can boast about this kind of success and it has continued for us for 13 years. Oh yes, it has been hard work for both of us, especially with the economic upheavals of recent years.
As an aside here, I should admit that we made a few mistakes along the way. If you are a new writer and ‘wannabee’ an author, you can learn from these mistakes. That would prove that I am doing a good job with this blog! Read about our Mistakes in Part 3.
Note: In case you happened on it, I had an earlier blog called: Of Books, Marketing and Self-Publishing … but it’s now closed and some of the posts will eventually show up here, along with a couple blogs on my hobbies.
Part 1: Can a self-published author (of fiction) succeed?
Posted by: | CommentsCertainly they can and, my husband, J. Robert Whittle, who writes all these popular, bestselling and award-winning novels that I edit, publish, brag about, and in recently years co-author, is a perfect example. Because we are a couple (yes, married too, although I kept my very historical Scottish surname), this means we are ‘self-published.’ What a stupid rule! put in place naturally, by the large publishing houses eons ago to differentiate between ‘real authors’ and mere ‘wannabees.’
There has been so much written for and about non-fiction self-published books … most of them come under the category of ‘How-To’ books, so I am writing from a different perspective – the one I am more knowledgeable about.
They say that self-publishers finance themselves rather than being paid by a publisher. Fortunately, we became so well known across North America it took visitors to bring it to our attention. Now, I think it’s all been forgotten and they think of us as a regular publishing company (Whitlands Publishing Ltd.). Robert IS the author and I am the Publisher. He had virtually nothing to do with the publishing end of the business except when I thought I should ask for his advice from time to time! He had become a master book salesman and at that he was much better than I!
This can be such a lengthy and heated subject and I don’t want these entries to be too long. This will be continued, hence Part 1!
Our first book was ‘Lizzie‘ and the print run was 500 copies (Dec 1998). This was the recommended print run in those days and was the only printing we have ever had to borrow money for … and it was our own!!
The loan lasted only 3 months … the time it took Robert to gain the confidence to sell 500 copies at coffee shops, grocery store lineups, the recycling depot etc.. We even had money in the bank at this point and printed our next run of 1,500 copies of the same book! The following year we printed a further 4,000 copies (they were selling like hotcakes! as word-of-mouth spread!) and the sequel to Lizzie came out on April 1st with a big launch at the Victoria Art Gallery. This was the only ‘book launch’ we ever planned – there simply was never enough time.
We soon realized that graduating to larger print runs meant less money paid up front and more in our pockets with each book sold. We began selling from our booth at markets (1999), craft fairs (1999), and the ferry terminal (2000). We have never looked back!!! I hear there are not many indie-publishers that can boast about this kind of success and it has continued for 13 years. Oh yes, it has been hard work for both of us and still is and it was my sole income until last year when I turned 65. Robert was forced into retirement in 1994 due to an old mining injury (see his bio and other posts) and in 1998 he began getting the old age pension, our only income when we began the books!
As self or indie publishing becomes even more popular due to ebooks, everyone seems to want to or is told they should ‘write a book’ so the competition has grown fierce.
So we continue as in the past with no plan to stop now telling people at the markets that they can also get our books on ebooks at Amazon.kindle, Kobo.com, Sony.com, Smashwords.com (all formats) etc.
I have only just begun this new blog format on my own website which has been around for many years. I seem to feel a need to share with you my 13+ years worth of experiences! If this introduces more people to our books in the process tghen I am doing a good job. The bonus for readers (and us) it that with our books in ebook format, they are more readily and cheaply available.
I have never joined author’s groups, although I have attended a few. Time has always seemed unavailable and they weren’t really my bag. My husband was the author, not me. I’m the at-home workhorse and I end up sitting here day and night filling my time with ‘work’ of one sort or another. A publisher’s life is filled with many things especially when they wear ALL the hats in the company!!
I had an earlier blog called: Of Books, Marketing and Self-Publishing … but I’m in the process of incorporating it, along with a couple blogs on my hobbies, under this umbrella.
Articles about J. Robert Whittle books seen in New York media
Posted by: | CommentsAmazing news from a visitor to Victoria, BC today … she stopped to talk to Robert at his Bastion Square Market stand and said she had just moved here recently from New York (now that is an interesting move!). He started to tell her about the books and she said there was no need because she had seen so many articles about him in New York newspapers that she knew exactly what she wanted to purchase.
She bought the Victoria Chronicles Trilogy in hardcover and his biographical CD, Laughing Through Life. She actually bought our last copy of the CD so we will be getting a new run made very soon. Robert has sold an amazing number of copies of the CD this summer!
It was lovely to hear New York hadn’t forgotten us because some years ago (about 6 or 7) another customer told Robert the same thing. Quite amazing how one gets known in the publishing industry, especially when you are an independent!
