Amazon Kindle – Page 3 – Jean's Writing

Do you know how to compile a mobi document without a TOC?

Published on June 22, 2016June 21, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell4 Comments

First, let me say if you have a better way – PLEASE – let me know.

A few posts back, I talked about my disappointment with KKBC (Kindle Kids Book Creator.)

The end results were lovely but limited. Very limited.

For instance, once a book is up on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) you can click on the book and download a .mobi file to use.

But for a book made with KKBC, this doesn’t work. Yes, the file downloads but not everyone can open it on their devices.

That means sending this mobi file, from KDP, to reviewers may leave you embarrassed. Why? Because the reviewer may not be able to open it. Now, I confess I have no idea how to predict who can open it and who can.

So what to do?

While not perfect for picture books, Scrivener provided a mobi file I could live with.

I’m sure most of you know that Scrivener will compile your document into an ebook file. So I won’t bore you with how to compile an ebook. But if you want to compile a picture book or a short manuscript “without” a table of contents these tips might help.

Most children picture books don’t need a TOC.

I spent hours listening to videos and reading blogs before I finally figured out how to avoid the automatic contents page in Scrivener.

The only way, I found, to avoid having a TOC show up in the compiled mobi file was to delete the names listed on the scenes or chapters leaving that space blank.

toc 3 TOC 2

So there you have it. I used this process for making and downloading a mobi version of my picture book that I can send to reviewers.

Is it as nice or pretty as the KKBC book? No, but it does give me a file I can email out for review.

I hope some of you amazing computer gurus and Scrivener pros step up and give us your expertise.

What do you think?

Any other suggestions?

Was this post clear as mud?

Keep reading for great reading on Scrivener TOC!

I’d love to hear from you! Click to write me or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Scrivener – How To Compile With Style

Scrivener for Mac Tutorial: How to turn a list of topics into a table of …

Scrivener Quick Tip: Building an eBook Part 1

Want to know which program to steer clear of?

Published on May 23, 2016May 20, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell20 Comments

KKBC, Kindle Kids’ Book Creator.

Well, that’s my opinion anyway.

Okay, I’ve told y’all many times how hard-headed I can be. So this post will come as no surprise, that even after reading the pros and cons of the new Kindle Kids’ Book Creator software, I still decided to give it a try. God I’m nuts!

To the readers which received an advance ecopy to review, I humbly apologize if you were unable to open the .mobi document.

I should have saved myself the trouble. Other than it being another software to use, trust me, it’s not worth the hassle.

screenshot_Thu_May_19_16.24.06

It’s a lot of hard work for little return. Kind of like eating crawdads. After dinner, you wonder why you didn’t just go ahead and order a damn lobster.

Okay, enough bellyaching. Here is why after the hard work, cussing, and crying I ended up with a product that is very limited.

I will have to publish another Kindle version through CreateSpace.

Why? Because Kindle Kids’ Book Creator files are huge and this limits the price you can charge for an ebook. Another thing it only allows certain devices to download the book. Yep, you heard right. Not all Kindle devices will be able to buy the book. That is why I will release another one through Createspace.

It took me 10 tries to get this small picture book to look right. Sigh. Can anyone say crawdads?

I could’ve published a couple of ebooks in the time I wasted playing with this program.

Although I had queried, searched and read everything I could get my hands on about this program, still I went forward.

Never again. For the future, I will use PagePlus to design the book, produce it in a PDF with Nitro10, and load it straight to IngramSpark and Createspace.

Bottom line, this is a no go for me. I won’t be using KKBC again.

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

Go to the bottom of this post and see what other writers had to say about KKBC.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

KDP Kids: Kindle Kids Book Creator

The disappointment: 5 reasons I’m not using Kindle Kids’ Book Creator software anymore

How to tips for designing your book cover

Published on February 19, 2016June 7, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell23 Comments

Every day I learn more and more about what it takes to launch a book.

Writing the story is just the beginning.

Even if you can afford a cover designer, the decision regarding the final visual product is yours. That’s a heavy responsibility.

That first impression can get a reader to stop, click and buy. First impressions are very important.

Should you design your book to blend with what you see on the bookshelf at Barnes & Noble? Or do you want your book to stand out from the crowd?

We all want our book to be eye-catching. To make the shopper, whether on Amazon or in a brick and mortar bookstore stop and look. And of course, hopefully, buy.

But there is a fine line I think in between something unique or something bizarre. The same with copying the latest trends in book covers. We run the risk of coming off too trendy if we mimic other authors.

So, with or without a designer, where do you start? As with any story, research.

Check out other books in your genre, on the Best Seller Lists (all of them).
Look at books by your favorite readers. What do you like, or dislike about those covers?
Consider the books that are in ebook and print form.

I fall in the DIY camp. It takes a lot more time and effort but can be done.

Like a cook, making a recipe handed down from her grandmother, I add a pinch of or dash of the following to bake up a beautiful (hopefully) cover:

An Illustrator located through a referral from a local writers group.
Free image editor (similar to Adobe) Sumo Paint
Adjust image size as needed (ie 300 dpi) with Paint.net by Windows
Use ebook template to size and adjust book template with Canva.com
For additional images free of copyrights I like Pixabay.com and Openclipart.org

Trendy or Unique?

I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. Just like each book and each story, it’s yours. Do the research and it your way!

Check out Jo Robinson’s post on book covers.

IT’S ALRIGHT TO HAVE A TRENDY BOOK COVER

What do you think? Trendy or Unique? Have you designed your own book cover? Are you in the midst of designing a cover? What programs or websites do you prefer to use to get the job done?

Tell me your thoughts in the comments section.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to with a click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Do you think free & unlimited books are better?

Published on February 17, 2016February 16, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell16 Comments

Well, let’s admit it. Everyone loves to get a good free book.

But how about the writer?

Does giving away a freebie help or hurt?

Are we becoming the McDonalds of writing?

God! I love their fries!

I’m a member of Kindle Unlimited and I love downloading and reading books for FREE through that service. When I first became a member there were a lot of good books to choose from, however, now it seems there are less and less. Not everyone seems to want to get into the program. I’m not sure why. Maybe it has to do with the pages read payment system.

“You’re eligible for royalty payment from Kindle Unlimited (KU, or Abonnement Kindle in France) and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) for pages an individual customer reads in your book for the first time. A customer can read your book as many times as they like, but we will only pay you for the number of pages read the first time the customer reads them.”

This is not necessarily a bad thing. At $.57 cents a page, when a book is read cover to cover that can add up to serious money.

But, and this is a big but, the serious money only comes when enough people read your book cover to cover. However, I guess that could be said about the number of people who buy a book too.

I’ve read a lot of wonderful books for Free, and I’ve started and not finished a lot of mediocre books for Free. At first I felt guilty about not finishing a book, but then I remembered my time is valuable too.

On the whole I think it’s a good system if you’re going to make your book available for FREE.