PaperBox Books

So I’m feeling good. I’ve exceeded the NaNo minimum count and I’m within reach of my own goal. I know, what a way to jinx it.

I decided I could take a half an hour to look at a bright shiny. Scrivener for Windows is in Beta and I wanted to see what it’s about. No, I didn’t download it. I’m not completely crazy. I did look at the video here. After looking at the video, I went to my calendar for December and made a note to try to get on the beta if it’s still open.

Two reasons I think this will be a great tool.

You can edit on line. Up to now, I’ve printed out my manuscript in scenes and analyzed each scene for revision. I printed it out because Word isn’t that easy to navigate when you are looking at it piece by piece. With Scrivener, I can update the index card with a note on each scene and save a tree.

The other reason, I can plot and research all in one document. Yay.

Finally for all you Apple lovers out there, I’m still not going Mac. Why? Well, with Scrivener I can save in a number of different formats, but not a .doc. Most services that upload and prep books for e-publishing need a .doc format. So, I’ll hang onto my Windows laptop and applications.

One more big tip. If you complete NaNo and verify your win, you get a 50% discount on the purchase price of Scrivener for windows. Here’s the info.

Happy Writing

Perry

No Comments | In: Happening in the Market, Opinions, Writing Tips | tags: editing, NaNoWriMo, Process, Writing Tips. | #

I’ve been reading a lot about how writers are using youtube.com for book promotion. They’re doing trailers, interviews and promotional bit to get the word out about not only their books, but also to build their reputation as an author.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been testing out my cameras for sound quality, scouting out locations, trying to figure out how to get rid of unflattering shadows etc. Then there was the whole – what am I going to say, how am I going to say it, what image do I want to present information I needed to have clear in my mind before I started.

It’s complex, there is a lot of non-writing stuff to think about.

I decided to give it a shot last week and put the ‘better’ results up on youtube.com – there were ‘several’ attempts. For my test run, I chose to do informal videos as Sue Nelson Buckley, the author. This would allow the style to be less polished than representing PaperBox Books.

If you want a more technical overview of the videos and tips and tricks that I’ve learned during the process take a look at my blog at SNBConsultingServices.ca (my alter ego).

In the meantime, here is some writing advice and an explanation of why I chose to publish both versions of Jake and Kathryn’s story in the Dual Version – The Trouble with Jake and The Problem With Jake. Enjoy

Fast Facts about me and some writing advice

A tale of two novels

No Comments | In: Happening in the Market, Marketing Help, Writing Tips | tags: book promotion, videos, writing advice, youtube.com. | #

It’s been a while since my last post. I have lots of reasons/excuses, but it is all about getting PaperBox Books up and running.

Sue and I have been passing legal docs back and forth – much prefer reading fiction than legalese – testing our processes, stalking Smashwords to see if the books have been sent to the premium distributors (soon) and planning (or plotting?) marketing plans.

Our timing was great because now we’re getting more and more submissions from authors, so now we have the time to read and give feedback.

Sue has done a great job revamping our site – check it out.

Well, back to researching helpful sites for authors and thinking about workshops we can offer.

My favorite e-book question – how do you do book signings? – has been answered here.

No Comments | In: Happening in the Market, What's New with PBB | | #

The bestest Christmas gift of all was looking at the front page of the PaperBox Books website and seeing titles for sale. Well, ok that was the 2nd bestest feeling, the absolutely bestest of bestest feelings (can you guess my word for the day?) was seeing the statistics show book sales within a few hours of our books going online. There were dances of joy on both sides of the continent (Perry in Vancouver and me, home for the holidays, in New Brunswick).

We have several authors going through our editing process now and we’ll have even more e-books for sale in the new year.

Current Titles Available:

Off Trackby Alice Griffiths – A romantic fantasy

Madeline was on track to make partner in her law firm when she was dragged into a magical world. Can she find her way back on track through a tangle of, love, magic, and evil villains? And will she want to turn her back on love to return. Jode knew he loved Madeline as soon as she followed him to his world. Will he sacrifice his love for her freedom?

A Novel Experiment

Originally written as a paranormal adult romance, ‘The Problem with Jake‘ was re-written as a young adult paranormal romance called ‘The Trouble with Jake‘. Author Sue Nelson Buckley couldn’t decide which was the better version so she’s opted to offer both for sale either as individual novels or together in a dual version issue. While the main story is the same, the subplots are significantly different to allow readers to enjoy both books without constantly experiencing deja vu. Aspiring writers and book clubs will love this unique ability to explore the changes made and debate whether they were effective.

The Problem with Jake by Sue Nelson Buckley – the adult version

Kathryn catches her fiancé cheating. Driving all night, she pulls onto White’s Bluff wharf. As a teenager she’d spent hours weaving fantasies about a protector. Stepping onto the wharf, she discovers her protector is real. Jake, a ghost for over a century is stunned when Kathryn speaks to him. As they became closer, he can’t help but worry about the plans she is making for their future.

The Trouble with Jake by Sue Nelson Buckley – the young adult version

After catching her boyfriend cheating on her, Kathryn drives all night. Finally, in the wee early hours of the morning she parks on the wharf at White’s Bluff. Jake, watches her even though she can’t see him. He’s been a ghost for over a century and over the years has developed a fondness for Kathryn and her family as they vacationed at White’s Bluff each summer. After sunrise, Kathryn leaves her car to stand on the wharf. She is shocked to discover the imaginary protector of her childhood fantasies is real. The more she learns about Jake’s identity the more he worries she’s getting too attached. A storm is brewing, can they survive it.

Please note – When you click on the links to purchase books from PaperBox Books, you will be taken to www.smashwords.com to ensure your transaction is secure.

No Comments | In: Happening in the Market, What's New with PBB | tags: Alcie Griffiths, books for sale, Dual Version, Off Track. Sue Nelson Buckley, The Problem with Jake, The Trouble with Jake. | #

Hi, I innocently went into Costco yesterday to do some shopping and ran smack dab into temptation. The Libre ereader was there and it was only $170.00 and, as if that wasn’t enough, it came with free ebooks.

Now, I’m fairly committed to waiting for the format issues to settle. And, at home I have p-books in my night stand and on my coffee table, and I have ebooks on my crackberry from mobipocket. I have three books on my Kindle for PC and two books on my Sony reader for PC.  If I could find a way to read with my laptop in bed I’d be fine.

The Libre reads PDF, TXT, FB2, EPUB, MOBI, PRC and RTF – although I’m not sure if it will read Kindle mobi (my crackberry can’t).

Cooler heads did prevail in the end. My Libre still sits waiting in Costco – I’m still going to wait a while for formating and DRM issue to work out. The good news is I thought it would be 18 months, with the pricing of the Libre already below $200 maybe I’ll be buying this year.

A few blogs about the Libre.  engadget – gizmodo

No Comments | In: Happening in the Market, Industry | tags: e-readers. | #