Category: My Books

Updated HEAD OVER HEELS on Kindle and Smashwords!

The other day, I wrote such a lovely post about my excitement at HEAD OVER HEELS finally being available on Kindle and Smashwords. Even though I saved the draft multiple times, immediately upon hitting Publish to release it onto my blog, the post disappeared. All but the first few sentences. So here I am, trying to duplicate my enthusiasm. Here are the first two original paragraphs:

After several days of a steeeeeeeeeeep learning curve and many frustrating moments, I am absolutely thrilled to report that the Updated & Revised third edition of HEAD OVER HEELS, self-published under the imprint, Blue Orchard Books, is NOW AVAILABLE on Kindle and Smashwords!

Sorry for shouting, but when I began my self-publishing journey, I never imagined I would rewrite 80% of the sentences in my first published book. I thought I’d just upd—

That’s where the blog post disappeared.

So, here I try to continue:

Sorry for shouting, but when I began my self-publishing journey, I never imagined I would rewrite 80% of the sentences in my first published book. I thought I’d just update the technology (cell phones, Internet, etc.) and be done with it, but it turned out I couldn’t keep my sticky fingers off my computer keyboard. It just didn’t feel right updating the technology without also revising to reflect changes in my writing style over the years, changes in cultural references since the 1st and 2nd editions of the book, etc. The great news is that I’m more in love with the story and characters than ever. And I hope you will be, too.

I want to thank the talented Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs for the wonderful cover and also her assistant, Jennifer L., for being so easy to work with. Michael Hale of Hale Author Services did the proofreading and formatting, and I really enjoyed working with him, too. I look forward to working with both of them again.

Now that I’ve conquered Kindle and Smashwords (which will distribute to Nook, Sony and other venues for me), it’s time to move on to Kobo and Apple. I’m also doing a new trade paperback edition via CreateSpace. Right now, the print cover design is underway.

A note to Nook users. Canadian Indie authors can not, at this time, upload directly to the Barnes & Noble self-publishing portal called PubIt. So a Nook edition won’t be available until the Smashwords distribution is accomplished. I have no idea how long that will take, but have no fear, I will announce the Nook release here. In the meantime, if you own a Nook and you absolutely can not wait to buy a copy from Barnes & Noble, the Nook ebook format, ePub, can be purchased from Smashwords. You just download the ePub format onto your hard drive after purchase and then transfer it to your Nook (a process called side-loading). Because I don’t own a Nook, I’m not exactly sure how to accomplish this, but a quick Google search should help you out.

Here’s the new cover and the updated back cover copy. Thanks for helping me celebrate! And if you’ve read the book before and would like to read it again, thanks to taking the middle man out of the publishing equation via KDP and Smashwords, the ebook is now more reasonably priced than ever before. At $2.99, it’s no more than buying a tall latte. Cheaper, in fact. So grab yourself a latte, grab your Kindle, and enjoy!

Magee Sinclair has had it up to her sassy short hairdo with the recent blunders pushing her family’s advertising agency to the brink. How can she accept the promotion her father plans when she keeps making costly mistakes? She needs to bring in more business however she can. So when new client Justin Kane asks her to role-play as his girlfriend for a weekend in exchange for a lucrative campaign, she jumps at the chance.

Justin’s goal to expand his chain of bike stores hinges on a distribution deal with a manufacturer. First, he needs to impress the man at a mountain resort while they bike trails with their significant others. But Justin’s girlfriend dumps him, forcing him to find a quick replacement. Magee—pretty, clever, and a skilled cyclist—is the perfect choice to masquerade as his “lover.”   Or so Justin thinks.

Because Magee is in major trouble. She knows no more about mountain biking than Justin does about demi-bras. Before long, an irate ex pops up, fake identities abound, and a whole lot of doors slam in the middle of the night. Yet, through the chaos, Magee and Justin discover what it really means to fall head over heels….

Doing My First Indie Uploads This Week!

I now have in my grabby little hands (or on my grabby little hard drive) the Indie author files for uploading HEAD OVER HEELS to Kindle, Kobo, Apple and Smashwords. As far as I’m aware, Kindle, Kobo and Apple are the only formats I can upload (as a Canadian) without going through an aggregator like Smashwords (which distributes to Nook, Sony and a lot of other places).

I have never done this before, and of course I didn’t open any accounts, etc., before arriving at this point. That would take all the fun out of panicking. I have no clue if there’s a “best practices” order in which to upload. And I do need to find out if Canadians can upload anywhere other than the venues I’ve listed here. So, I have some research to do.

It’s a busy weekend filled with personal commitments. Today I am, unfortunately, attending a celebration of life for a friend who passed away a week ago. Beginning Monday, I will start my foray into Sindie publishing! Will let you know how it goes and when the book is available on which venues. Which means soon I’ll be updating the HEAD OVER HEELS page to reflect the new excerpt and all the buy links.

If you would like notification of a particular format (Kindle, Nook, Kobo), please drop me an email and I’ll let you know as soon as the book is available in that format. I will be sending out a newsletter once the first format is available, but don’t want to pepper newsletter subscribers with too many editions within a short time.

Thanks!

Head Over Heels Sindie Pub Update

Honestly, I really am going to write another Galapagos travel blog post—maybe even this week! Just not now (check the Archives by clicking the Galapagos link if you’re interested in what I’ve written about my travels so far). Today I’m popping in from a busy and hot (finally!) summer to report that I’ve finished going over the proofreader’s file for the Indie edition of HEAD OVER HEELS and have handed the book over to my formatter for conversion into Smashwords, Kindle and ePub (Kobo, Apple and other outlets) files. I’m also hiring out for the interior design of the new trade paperback edition I’ll be doing through CreateSpace. The same talented cover designer, Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs, who did the ebook cover, will design the paperback cover. By the end of August, my “soft launch” should be complete. I hope!

What is a “soft launch,” you ask? It would be nice if I had a definitive answer, but that would require more research than I have time for at the moment. Instead, I’ll go with a Sindie answer (ie. what I’ve figured out but haven’t verified yet). A “soft launch” is when a self-published author is busy uploading her book to the various venues which she, as a Canadian, can upload to on her own. Example, Kindle and Kobo. Nook must be uploaded (for Canadians) through a service such as the one an aggregator like Smashwords provides. There’s a time lag between when an author uploads a book and when it’s actually made available for sale. So, in effect, there can be several “launches” for the same Indie-published book. There could be a Kindle launch, a Nook launch, a Kobo launch, a CreateSpace (trade paperback) launch. They might occur days or weeks apart. From what I have been able to gather, some Indie authors quietly go about the “soft” launch and then, when the book is available everywhere, they do a “hard launch.” In other words, announce the book as available everywhere. Other authors announce the availability as the various formats go live.

I will most likely follow the latter option. I’m too excited to wait for a hard launch (if I even have the terminology correct. If you are an Indie author and I don’t have the terminology correct, feel free to, well, correct me). The easiest way to keep up with when a particular format is available is to:

– subscribe to the RSS feed to this blog (link at bottom of blog – click where it says Entries and then click the Subscribe link that will appear in the feed).
– Join my Facebook author page and then make sure you comment or like a post every so often so Facebook will continue feeding you my updates
– Join my newsletter on Yahoogroups (see box in upper right hand corner of blog for ease of joining) and, when I am ready, I will send out a newsletter announcing where the book is available. I will likely save the newsletter for a “hard launch,” with perhaps the exception of the trade paperback version, because it might take longer than the ebook launches.

And there you have it. Several ways you can be Cindy-fied. This is not to be confused with being dignified. Dignity is for sissies.

Find Me at Table 802!

As I’m heading off to Anaheim for the RWA National Conference, I realized I might not get a chance to blog during the conference. But a quick heads-up that I’m signing copies of WHERE SHE BELONGS at the Annual Literacy Autographing. The tables aren’t in alphabetical order this year, so just remember (if you’re in the area and want to stop by to say hello) that I can be found at Table 802 along with Jane Porter (the other P in the bunch) as well as a few other authors with last names that don’t start with P. So if you see a long line forming in front of Jane’s station and no one standing in front of mine, pop over and say hello. I don’t bite!

Here’s the WWWW direct from RWA:

2012 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing

Wednesday, July 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Anaheim Convention Center, Ballroom (third floor)

http://www.rwa.org/cs/literacy_autographing

Proceeds from book sales go to ProLiteracy Worldwide, Read Orange County, and Literacy Volunteers—Huntington Valley.

No outside books are allowed in the event.

I Am Here

Absent from the blog, but busy working and living life!

The RWA National Conference in Anaheim, California occurs next week. I am attending and will be signing at the Literacy Autographing Wednesday evening. More information coming on that in a couple of days.

I’m mega-behind in posting my Galapagos travel posts. I’ve been busy updating and revising HEAD OVER HEELS for what will now be an August 2012 re-issue through my imprint, Blue Orchard Books. After rewriting about 80% of the sentences (if not more) in the story, I decided to hire a proofreader to make sure I haven’t left any stray commas or typos behind (and by hire a proofreader I don’t mean a family member, friend, or a critique partner. I wanted someone totally objective who was not at all familiar with the story). Yesterday, I sent off the file for proofreading and expect it will be returned to me at the end of the month.

Then comes the formatting, for which I am also hiring out. I am hiring out every step of the process toward the re-issue of HEAD OVER HEELS that does not involve writing or uploading to the various on-line venues. I just have too much going on to worry about learning how to properly format my work for all the different formats (Smashwords, ePub, Kindle, etc.). Maybe in the future, but not right now. This means, of course, that the re-issue of HEAD OVER HEELS does not come without a price. Proofreaders, formatters, cover artists, etc. are not free. However, I am so totally in love with this story again, and I honestly believe that if I want to try and find new readers with a re-issue then I owe it to those readers to put out the best version of the story that I honestly can at this point in time. For me, for a book that was originally published ten years ago (time flies!) that meant a lot of editing. I know other authors feel differently, but I didn’t feel right putting out a re-issue of a “contemporary” that was set in another decade. It was great fun updating technology and cultural changes, etc. without sacrificing characterization and story.

I am in love with the result! I hope you will be, too.

Continue to watch this space for news of the re-issue as I have it.

Now, I need to panic for the next two days as I realize I am not anywhere near finished packing (er, I have yet to start) for Conference!

Borrowing Alex Rights Reversion

The English-language ebook and print rights to BORROWING ALEX revert to me today from Amber Quill Press. I will be reissuing the story sometime this summer under the imprint, Blue Orchard Books. I’d say it’ll probably appear again in August. Meanwhile, the audiobook of BORROWING ALEX remains for sale from AudioLark, Audible and iTunes.

Right now I’m still heavily editing and updating HEAD OVER HEELS. I won’t commission a new cover for BORROWING ALEX or even think about that book until I have the new edition of HEAD OVER HEELS off to my proofreader. I’m super glad I decided to update the story. It was first published in 2002 and reissued in 2005 with few changes. Essentially, that makes HEAD OVER HEELS a ten-year-old book. It feels right to update it, and I’m having a lot of fun doing so. I’m looking forward to it finding a new audience.

BORROWING ALEX released in 2005. It remains to be seen how much updating that story requires. The heroine “borrows” (kidnaps, with his consent) the hero and spirits him off to a remote lake cabin where it makes sense that cell phone service and the like would be spotty. Whereas, with HEAD OVER HEELS, I’ve had to get a bit creative in how technology changes could mess with my beautiful plot!

I’m not altering the plots of either stories, the basic characterizations, goals, motivations, and conflicts. The stories I reissue will be the stories that were available from Amber Quill Press until today. Just ramped up a bit.

By the way, I’ve learned that the number of “likes” on an author’s Amazon Author Central page can help in the algorithm computer number thingies for that author. Basically, whenever you see a “like” button and want to help out an author, click it. Using moi, for example, whether you’re on my Amazon Author Central page, or one of the pages for my individual books (the pages are still on Amazon, thanks to the Audible audiobook editions and also WHERE SHE BELONGS remains for sale in hardcover, too), clicking “like” makes me look good! So, if you’re so inclined, I would really appreciate it if you went over and clicked “like” (look for the button in the upper right hand corner) my Amazon Author page, and also the individual book pages, if the spirit moves you.

You do have to be logged into Amazon for clicking like to “stick.” Just keep that in mind (if the spirit moves you).

Thanks!