"industrial standard" sizes for books

Urg! I thought I was done with my work on Createspace.com for Last Chance Lane, but there's a little hiccup. Actually, it's a pretty big hiccup because I thought I was done.

When you start a project on Createspace.com, one of the first things you have to do is to choose the size of the book or trim size. You have a lot of choices; twelve of them in fact. But when they didn't notify me was the fact that if I choose anything other than one of the "most popular trim sizes," then it limits where your book will be sold or made available.

Here are the trim sizes (in inches) you can choose from Createspace.com:

• Most Popular Trim Sizes - 5x8, 5.25x8, 5.5x8.5, 6x9 
• More “industry-standard” choices - 5.06x7.81, 6.14x9.21, 6.69x9.61, 7x10,7.44x9.69, 7.5x9.25, 8x10, 8.5x11  

The "standard distribution" is free, and it includes Amazon, Amazon Europe, and Createspace eStore. 

The "expanded distribution" is also free, and it includes bookstores and online retailers, libraries and academic institutions, and Createspace direct. BUT only for the trim sizes under "most popular trim sizes." 

So, if you chose the "industry-standard" trim size 5.06 x 7.81 inches, then the expanded distribution channel is closed to you until you change the physical size of your book. Fortunately, there's not much difference between 5 x 8 and 5.06 x 7.81 (hopefully), so the digital transition seems good. But I can't trust good enough on my computer screen, so I have to order another set of proofs to make sure they look OK. 

So, the important lesson here is... pick one of the most popular trim sizes if and when creating your book on createspace.com. Other than this minor issue, I really don't have anything to complain about createspace.com. Actually, I'm amazed at how straightforward things are on createspace.com. 

So, if you've got a good book waiting to be seen in print, this is a good place to try. Did I tell you my proof was about ~$2.50 each? With paying ~$4.50 for shipping. I can't believe they can do business it like this! But I'm sure they are making enough money from the books they sell online.

 Larger size is glossy cover, and smaller size is matte. I was experimenting with fonts, trim sizes, etc. I'll be going with the smaller size with the matte cover.
 

A free book download on Amazon

Hello everyone.

I'm running a promotion on Amazon. You can download my latest book, Last Chance Lane by Jennifer R. Kim, for free on 12/3.

I'll tell you about how things are going in my next blog.

Enjoy!

So many decisions to make...

I've uploaded my e-books on Kindle (Waiting for Appa, Last Chance Lane, and Five Stones) as well as Nookpress (Waiting for Appa and Last Chance Lane), but ultimately I've decided to only publish them on Kindle/Amazon to try out their KDP Select program.

Nookpress (Barnes and Noble) has many pluses on its side, such Read in me Store program, Lend Me program, Samples, eGifting, and Affiliates program, and check out the link for the programs.

https://www.nookpress.com/support
 
But I thought KDP Select program offered more intriguing options. I've cut and pasted the reasons why from Amazon's Authorcentral.com site.

Why Enroll in KDP Select?

Earn higher royalties (Sure. I'd like to make more money, but this is not my primary reason. However, I was intrigued by the idea of getting a cut when a customer with Kindle Unlimited option reads more than 10% of my book.)

• Earn your share of the KDP Select Global Fund amount when readers choose and read more than 10% of your book from Kindle Unlimited, or borrow your book from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Plus, earn 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, India, Brazil and Mexico. 

Maximize your book’s sales potential (I'm still trying to figure out who to generate more interest/sales. So, these promotions tools were a definite plus for me. I'm not sure about the Kindle Countdown Deals, but I'll definitely do Free Book Promotions. So, I'll keep you posted on when and how well or not so well it went.)

• Choose between two great promotional tools: Kindle Countdown Deals, time-bound promotional discounting for your book while earning royalties; or Free Book Promotion where readers worldwide can get your book free for a limited time.

Reach a new audience (Because I'm still trying to find my audience, this is my primary reason for choosing Kindle/Amazon over Nookpress/Barnes and Noble.)

• Help readers discover your books by making them available through Kindle Unlimited in the U.S, U.K., Germany, Italy, and Spain and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan.

This KDP select program is a 90-day program. I have to renew it or get invited (?) to renew it every 90 days. So, I thought I'd try this first, then go on to Nookpress/Barnes and Noble.

If you choose KDP select program, you cannot sell your e-books elsewhere on the web. There are additional limitations, so please check it out before you try it, too.

There are many KDP select videos on Youtube, and I've watched a quite a few, but to be honest, I didn't find a lot of them useful. Most were self-promotional videos, and I had fun watching them, fantasizing about seeing one of my own one day, but I didn't find them overly useful. BUT since there are so many videos available, I could have veered off at a point and completely missed videos that are quite useful and helpful.

Cover

I think covers are very important in drawing the readers in, to at least pick up  the book and check it out. Here are my book covers, and I'll tell you how you can create your own.

My first book cover, Waiting for Appa, was created by a family member who used Adobe Illustrator. I don't know the details of what he did, but I provided the photograph of the door used on the cover. I took it a long time ago when I was visiting Korea.

I've gotten a lot of compliments for this cover. I wanted the cover to convey a sense of loss and pain. I chose this Korean door because it's pretty. But more importantly, it anchors the story in Korea. The little girl in the shadows convey a deep sense of loss, with her doll hanging limply by her side. However, my favorite element in the cover is the tree. It just doesn't look natural, especially with all those sharp, pointy ends. The ends remind me of various medieval weapons. BUT, she's leaning against it. It is a source of despair as well as comfort.

My second book cover, Last Chance Lane, was created using a photograph I took with a DSLR. My son showed me this free online site, Pixlr.com, that allows a wide range of creative license to make the cover look pretty darn good (for doing it yourself).

Original photo

Last Chance Lane is about a young Korean-American woman who feels that she must atone for a life altering event she caused some twenty years ago. One moment of impulsive action takes her to a place where the line between reality and illusion blurs. In this world where she knows nothing, not even her name, she uncovers far more than she expects.  

Because of the blurring of reality and illusion, I chose these specific effects. After going into Pixlr EDITOR, I used diffuse and  pastel effects listed under Filter tab (in that order). I don't know why I didn't try the other way around, but I just didn't. I can't remember exact values, but you should check it out and try different combinations.

I thought about using other effects available at Pixler O-MATIC such as using hues of blue or grey, but I didn't want it to veer too far away from reality by using unnatural colors. I also intentionally made the title more difficult to see because the world in which the main character finds herself in is a little confused and unclear.

The third book cover, Five Stones, was created using the same online site Pixler.com with a picture I took with the same camera. I haven't quite picked "the final" one, but I'm close.

Original Photo

Five Stones is inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I wanted the cover to convey a sense of distortion. Not an exaggerated distortion, but just enough to provoke some questions. The mother, Mrs. Kim, think she knows her daughters inside-out, but she doesn't realize that she doesn't see them as who they really are, but who she wants them to be. There are pockets of brightness, but they add more confusion than anything else.

I don't know why, but I like the blurring of lines. Not too much, but just enough. So, for this cover, I went into Pixlr EDITOR and used Diffuse and  Pastel effects listed under Filter tab (in that order). I didn't blur the picture too much, so try different combinations. 

Then I imported the altered picture into the Pixler O-MATIC. There, I ran it through different film strips named after people, then click on right arrow button to get to the next process. There, I can add different effect on the picture.  The points of light on the cover is from this process. My favorite effects are Bocea, Bubble, and Rainbow for this cover, but I think I can use a lot of these effects on many more covers to come (I hope).

I am quite happy with these covers, and I think I'll continue to create my own covers. The fact that I have complete creative control over the cover is awesome.

Have a great day. 

Formatting Issues 2

I've addressed formatting process I went through in the previous blog. Here, I'll address specific site issues I've experienced.

Kobo~ 

• Upload to it's site was easy enough, but I couldn't preview the upload. Without being able to preview, I wouldn't know how it'd look on a device, so I contacted the customer support, but customer support said there was no problem on their side. So, I uploaded a couple of times more, but I still couldn't preview.
• I'm sure there was a solution, but I didn't feel like working through it on my own. So, I abandoned this site for now. I'll definitely go back to it at a later date.  

Nookpress/Barnes and Noble~ 

• Uploaded my manuscript several times - .doc, .epub, and .docx files, and I found that .docx file works the best for errors I have, which are formatting (specifically indentation) errors. 
• For my indentation errors, I've found that I need to either tab for indentations or return/enter after a tabbed paragraph. I'm not sure it makes sense, but it wasn't a difficult fix, but rather tedious one. I had to make the corrections in .docx, then upload it again. I checked every indentation (in both .docx and once uploaded on Nookpress site), so it was really boring but essential.

Kindle/Amazon (Similar to Nookpress)~

• Same as Nookpress.Uploaded my manuscript several times - .doc, .epub, and .docx files, and I found that .docx file works the best for errors I have, which are formatting (specifically indentation) errors. 
• Several years back, it was .epub file with some corrections (font size, bold/italic issues) done in html, but this time .docx file worked the best. This is great since I don't know html, and I was guessing as I went along. However, this may work better for others. Again, I used Calibre ebook management site to convert my files.

• Same as Nookpress. For my indentation errors, I've found that I need to either tab for indentations or return/enter after a tabbed paragraph. I'm not sure it makes sense, but it wasn't a difficult fix, but rather tedious one. I had to make the corrections in .docx, then upload it again. I checked every indentation (in both .docx and once uploaded on Nookpress site), so it was really boring but essential. 

For Kindle authors, there are a lot of videos you can watch under KDP select on Youtube, and I'm sure there are formatting videos out there, but I haven't searched for them before. I'll definitely watch a couple of those before I write my next book for Kindle/Nookpress.

Good luck with your writing! 

I'm trying out different covers for Five Stones. Any preferences?

Formatting issues 1

Hello everyone. Sorry, I couldn't blog about my writing in more timely manner. For once, it was because there was too much going on with it. I've been busy with getting two works of fiction (Last Chance Lane and Five Stones) formatted and ready for e-book sales.

In progress

Completed

I've decided to sell my e-books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo. Waiting for Appa is already on sale at Amazon (paperback and e-book) and Barnes and Noble (paperback only), so I thought I'd try to get it on Kobo.

But before I talk about uploading to these sites, I want to talk about formatting the manuscript. If you're paying someone to convert your manuscripts to e-book files for you, then this is not going to help you. You can skip this blog.

I don't want to pay someone to covert the files for me, so I've been trying to find ways to convert files myself. I've saved my documents as .doc, and when I uploaded straight onto the site, it imported all types of formatting errors. Too numerous to count.

I've used Calibre to convert .doc manuscript to .epub or many other e-book files. Calibre says it's an e-book management site, but I've been using it as a conversion software for my manuscript. It's met with limited success, but when you spot an error, you have to go back to the original document, in .doc, to correct the mistakes or figure out how to change the format to convert it seamlessly. This is how I formatted the Waiting for Appa e-book file on sale on Amazon a couple of years ago.

This time around, I've discovered that converting .doc manuscripts to .epub file then uploading it to the book sale sites didn't help with formatting errors compared to uploading .doc manuscript straight. However, I discovered that uploading .docx manuscript eliminated a lot of errors (especially font size or bold/italic errors). So, I've been uploading .docx manuscripts straight on to e-book sales sites. 

Even with .docx, indent format problems persists. I think there are youtube videos on how to do this correctly for different sales sites, but I haven't looked around. So, I've had to go paragraph by paragraph to check my indents. Although it's a long and tedious process, I do it this way to make sure I catch all my errors. Of course, there are no guarantees that I'm catching all of them, but I'm trying.

I know this might be little boring and tiresome to talk about formatting the manuscript, but I wanted to share what I've done to get to a certain place. I've been searching online to find a way to help with the formatting errors, but I didn't find anything that helped with my specific problem. So, I'm trying just to get it out there.

Until next time, stay healthy during this winter season.

More thoughts on the review

I'm still trying to decide what I should do next. I firmly believe in taking the criticism as well as praise (I'm not so sure there was much of this, at least to me). So, what am I going to do?

1. The negative remarks about Jihae's (Lizzie character) "bitchy" attitude toward Donghoon (Darcy character) was unjust (I feel). But if that's the perception from this reviewer, then I am thinking about softening her character a bit (even though none of my readers ever mentioned it to me as a needed correction).

This is the reason if you decide to sign up for Kirkus Review Indie, you should send a DIGITAL copy of your book rather than a hard copy. Several weeks into the review cycle, the assistant editor asked for a digital copy, and I couldn't provide it to him in a timely manner (this was NOT a requirement). So, since the reviewer had to finish my review in a set amount of time, I think the reviewer found it within first several chapters (because he/she couldn't easily search for items easily in hard copy) and just settled on it. I used word "bitchy" once in the 400+ page manuscript, and he/she called that out as an example of  negative characterization of Lizzie character. This was unfortunate.

Though I think it was unfortunate for the reviewer to characterize Jihae based on one word she uses self-mockingly while talking to her best friend, I will work to soften her character.

2. The reviewer pointed out that by taking out Wikham-Lydia set piece from my book (I've replaced it with something else), I've weakened Donghoon's (Darcy's) character. That Donghoon doesn't have a chance to earn Jihae's trust like Darcy does with Lizzie. That Donghoon has to wait things out rather than take action to save Lizzie's dire family situation.

In Five Stones, I didn't want Jihae to make a decision, even partially, based on how helpful Donghoon had been to her family. I feel that my conflict replacing Wikham-Lydia set piece has sufficient strength of its own, but Donghoon (Darcy) is less active in this new set piece. So, I decided to add a conflict close to Wikham-Lydia set piece back into Five Stones. Hopefully, this will give Donghoon a chance to play the hero.

3. I need to work on my "competent, workmanlike writing." Again, I don't completely agree with "workmanlike," but I do have to be mindful of that perception.

I think I've said it before, but I am very aware of the fact that 1) English is my second-language, 2) I majored in Mechanical Engineering (maybe my written English would be more whimsical had I majored in English...; however, several times, my Engineering professors have commented that I should leave flowery language off of my Mechanical Engineering lab reports), and 3) I'm still in the process of experimenting, learning, and growing as a writer.

4. The reviewer also uses another modern Austen spin-off as an example as what's missing in Five Stones. I heartily agree that Five Stones is very different from the example, because I didn't like the book in question. 

Now, I do have a plan for my fixes. Even Wikham-Lydia set piece is falling into place nicely, at least in my notebook. But one advice I have for you is for you to send a DIGITAL copy of your book.


Happy Writing!

Waiting is over

Waiting is over, but the review is not what I had hoped, but it's not a negative review, either. So, where does that leave me?

If the review had been really positive, I had planned to find an agent with it, but it's not. At least I  don't think it's strong enough to land an agent. So, I must go on with my Plan B. 

Here are some of the excerpts from the review that I might use to market Five Stones (a Korean-American tale inspired by Pride and Prejudice). 

"The setting plausibly retains the values of Austen-ian England." - Kirkus Reviews

"The competent...prose has some good ideas." - Kirkus Reviews

"Kim cleverly adapts characters and situations." - Kirkus Reviews

"A Korean-American setting helps this reboot." - Kirkus Reviews

"Updating the story among an upwardly striving immigrant community makes good sense: The setting plausibly retains the values of Austen-ian England (marriage, conformity, material success, loyalty to family, good manners) within the larger context of American individualism." - Kirkus Reviews

If you want to read the whole review, please go on to Kirkus Reviews and you should be able to search for it by the book title (it's not "published" right now because the reviewer made some mistakes and the assistant editor is trying to correct the mistakes. I'll talk more about this later). 


Now, on to more important matters....

The PROS: 

1. I've always been insecure about my writing (English is my second language and I majored in Mechanical Engineering in college), and Kirkus Reviews assured me that I was a "competent" writer. 

Actually the whole excerpt is..."The competent, workmanlike prose has some good ideas...," and I'm sure "workmanlike" wasn't meant to be a compliment, but it still makes me happy to think about the "competent" part. I'll just have to work on the "workmanlike" part even though I want to dismiss it was a subjective. But I know this much. If I want to accept "competent" and be happy about it, I have to accept "workmanlike" and work on that.

2. I think I did get some good excerpts from the review, and I'm grateful for them. But Kirkus Reviews' policy is that if you're using part of their review as excerpts to promote your book, you have to make the review available on their website (which I think is fair).

3. The reviewer referred to my previous book, Waiting for Appa, in the review, and I guess that's increasing its visibility. But since the review wasn't overtly positive, I'm not sure if it's going to be all that helpful.

The CONS:

1. The reviewer referred to my previous book, Waiting for Appa vs Waiting for Apa, but he/she misspelled it. So, I've asked the assistant editor to correct the mistake, but I have yet to hear back from him. I'm not sure what to think of this mistake. 

2. The reviewer referred to Cal Berkeley correctly once, then referred it as Cal Tech the second time. So, I've asked the assistant editor to correct the mistake, but I have yet to hear back from him. Again, I'm not sure what to think of this mistake. 

I don't know how much reviewers get paid, but they do get paid, and it's disappointing that the details that the reviewers chose to point out weren't correctly spelled or referred.

3. When I signed up for the Kirkus Reviews Indie program, I had a choice of sending a digital copy or a hard copy. I sent two hard copies (at the cost of $17.25). I wasn't required to send a digital copy, but a digital copy was requested and it took me a while to send it (my computer went through a meltdown stage, then recovered). I feel as if I could have been penalized for this delay, because due to the lack of digital ease in searching, I feel that my reviewer limited himself/herself to first several chapters and didn't venture beyond them to quote widely from the book.

So, you writers out there, choose your words carefully, and if and when you decide to get your book/manuscript reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, send it digitally.

I'm still thinking about what to do next. I've been reading some e-book success stories, and I think I need to research a little longer to decide what to do.

Good luck and keep on writing!

Interminable waiting

Hello everyone.

I haven't posted anything on this site because I didn't have much to say. I'm still waiting for a review of Five Stones from Kirkus Review Indie. I'm crossing my fingers and toes, but who knows.... Good or bad, I think I've got nothing to lose because I'll have an objective assessment of my writing. Hopefully, it'll point me in the right direction.

While I'm waiting for the review, I've been searching for articles on how independent e-book authors have found success on Amazon, specifically.

So far, what I've found is this.
1. Get your manuscript as polished as possible.
2. Have at least one other person read it and get feedback (now, I'm not sure if feedback means grammar or content).
3. Find the sweet spot for pricing the book and sell, but don't be shy about playing around with the price points. The sweet spot seems to be $0.99 in US and 99p in UK.
4. PR and marketing are mentioned in the articles, but none of them goes into specifics. If I find any examples, I'll post them here.

I've got more articles read, and I'll share what else I find soon.

This is one thing I promise - if I ever make it (earning some modicum of actual income), I'll post the steps I took. A couple of friends and I had a good laugh over the tax return I had to file on my "income."

Keep on writing.

 

PS - I really like this photo, but I can't decide whether I'm the ocean or the rock in the middle.

I'm confused....

Hello, there. I am writing my blogs more diligently in the last couple of months, but not this one. It's not because I didn't want to write, but I had nothing to write about because I'm waiting. Waiting to hear back from Kirkus Review Indie about my book review.

Well, I heard back yesterday, but I'm perplexed by the request more than anything. When I signed up for the Kirkus Review Indie, I had two options to choose from - upload a digital copy of my book or send in two hard copies of my book. Being an old-fashioned person that I am, I chose to send in two hard copies (they were 400+ pages x 2) to the Kirkus Review office in New York. Kirkus Review received my book on 5/6, and yesterday, 5/27, it requested that I send in a digital version of my title that they want to keep on hand for "fact-checking" purposes. What does that mean? Why does it need to "fact-check" fiction, not even historical fiction, but commercial fiction? Can anyone tell me? I'm too new to this process, and I don't know what it means.

So..., I wrote back asking if there are any concerns. If this was a standard practice. And he replied back and said that they like to fact check their reviews against the text of the book and "the digital versions are very helpful in aiding that process." I guess that's an explanation, but if I had wanted to send a digital version, I would have done that from the beginning, instead of spending the money on postage to send 800+ pages to them.

I'm just wondering....if this is a standard practice. When I review a book, I do it with a real book, not an e-reader. So, why can't they just use my manuscript (2 copies) to write the review and check it against that. The info hasn't changed, right?

I guess I'm a little weary of sending a digital copy of my unpublished manuscript to anyone. Any advice on this? I'd really appreciate it.

Kirkus Review Indie

I don't know if I need to explain about Kirkus Review Indie, but here it goes. I first came across the information in an article about Darcie Chan's success on Amazon. I think she sold 140,000 copies of her book online, and she attributed a lot of that success on Kirkus Review Indie.

What Kirkus Review does is... it will review your book for a fee ($425 or higher for faster return). The author will get 250 - 350 word review on the book. It doesn't promise anything, except that it will be reviewed by one of their qualified reviewers.

"Our reviewers include librarians, business executives, journalists from national publications, PhDs in religion and literature, creative executives in entertainment and publishing industries as well as other professional reviewers."     - Kirkus Review

This service doesn't guarantee a good review, just an objective review.

I guess that's the beauty and the strength of Kirkus Review Indie. That it doesn't guarantee a good review, but an objective review. So..., what am I going to do with it? I've done a little bit of research, and people have used it in two different ways basically, if the review were positive.

1. Use it to find an agent. Some authors have used it to find an agent in two months!
2. Use it to market the book on Amazon.com via Author Central, as well as book lover sites, such as Goodreads.com, etc.

Obviously, getting a good review would be a start. So, here I am, crossing my fingers for a good review.

Wish me luck!

Five Stones, An introduction

As a lover of Jane Austen’s books, especially Pride and Prejudice, I’ve been amused and inspired by the cultural similarities between Jane Austen’s England and modern-day Korea. This led me to write a Korean-American version of Pride and Prejudice titled Five Stones, and it is approximately 130,000 words in length.

Five Stones would fit the category of chick-lit or women’s fiction. My reader would also enjoy reading Bridget Jones Diary and any other modern take on Austen’s timeless tales of love and marriage.

It is a truth, universally known, that a Korean mother in possession of five unmarried daughters must be in desperate need of eligible single men. Mrs. Youngae Kim has nothing to worry about except for her five daughters – Mihae, the beautiful one, Jihae, the supposed smartest one, Soonhae, the oddly pious one, Kihae, the boring smart one, and Marhae, the vivacious one – whom all failed to procure a husband. However full and blessed her life may be, Mrs. Kim fixes her mind on that one sore subject and spends her days on an emotional seesaw between rapturously hopeful and miserably despondent.

Over the course of many months, the two elder Kim sisters, Mihae and Jihae, struggle and then triumph over their mother’s plans for their future, the misunderstandings with the men they love, and the other people’s machinations to find love and happiness.


I've been working on this book for a couple of years, even though I wrote the 1st draft in about three months. I'm usually a confident person, but when it comes to writing, I become very insecure. I've edited this manuscript several times and spent more time fussing and nit-picking at it. Then finally, I bit the bullet last week (Friday) and sent it in to get it reviewed by Kirkus Review Indie. I'm crossing my fingers and toes for a positive review, but good or bad, I'm eagerly waiting to hear back. I feel like this is an opportunity for me to get an objective review of my work.

I know I won't get the review until July sometime (8 weeks lead time for $425 package), but I'm already waiting for it. I hope I can remain calm.