Publishing – Page 10 – Jean's Writing

Today I’m thrilled to congratulate my favorite ape

Published on July 5, 2016July 4, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

And a hard-working ape he is!

Congratulations Chris to you and your sister! What a lovely gesture to your mother.

So all you writers/readers pass on the Ape’s good news.

A book is born!

Click on the following link and read the Ape’s story.

NEWSFLASH – Story Reading Ape Publishes Book…

Click image to read a sample…

I’d love to hear from you! Click the write me tab 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.

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Do you want to add one more to your tool bag?

Published on June 29, 2016June 28, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

One more social media tool?

Are you ready to go live with Blab?

Now that you’ve stopped laughing, I’m serious. It’s called BLAB. Yeah, it’s new to me too.

If I understand it, BLAB works a little like an interactive YouTube.

But this is a place you can listen, watch and ask questions live. Get that burning question from a writer, or maybe someone with a speciality you need for your book answered. Now there’s an idea.

One thing! If you decide to participate, check your background. Hide the dirty dishes, and turn down the music. Or, and in my case, I will need to put on a little makeup, most days I don’t wear any. When I’m writing my characters don’t care.

Ways a Writer Can Use Blab

Use the search feature and find other authors and learn about writing and publishing.
Follow your favorites and receive notification when they schedule new Blabs.
Network with other authors.
Discover topics on self-publishing, editing, book covers, agents, sales, and marketing.
Find readers interested in your books.

For more information about using BLAB read–

Book Marketing: How, Why and When to Use Blab – and What is Blab, Anyway? by Lorna Sixsmith

What do you think?

Is this a new tool you will use?

Or is this another time sucker?

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.

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.

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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

What do you think about Kindle Unlimited?

Published on June 17, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell3 Comments

As a reader I love it! Especially, when one of my favorite writers adds a title to KU. But after reading the latest scam making the rounds, I’m wondering if as a writer KU might be more trouble than it’s worth.

There is no denying Amazon.com is the biggest player in the world of online booksellers. And as such we have no choice but to play in their sandbox.

However, their rules are a bit scary and gray at times. More and more it seems Amazon is becoming a power wielding giant which can strike fear into the hearts of writers.

Take Kindle Unlimited for instance. As a reader, I love KU. My books are kids books and as such are not a good choice for KU. But adult and YA books, well they are great choices for KU.

Now scammers are trying to scare authors from putting great books on the KU platform. This is terrible. I hope that Amazon will find a way to stop them other than punishing authors.

Read this author’s nightmare.

THINK YOU COULDN’T POSSIBLY LOSE YOUR AMAZON PUBLISHING ACCOUNT? THINK AGAIN.

Are any of your books on Kindle Unlimited?

Have you considered listing a title on KU?

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

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