http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/105/2014/12/DEC-INDEX.png
Best list I have seen to date including the effects of VAT and Amazon's new features for readers.
CreateSpace is #1, no surprise to me because of their incredible telephone support.
Sometimes we need to talk to a real person as not knowing publishing lingo puts us at a disadvantage.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Federated Search Blog
The Federated Search Blog at http://federatedsearchblog.com/ has a wealth of information including that the Government Computer News (GCN) recently reviewed mobile apps developed by the federal government. Science.gov Mobile was among the top 10 listed.
I am going to download it to my Android now as GCN gave the Science.gov Mobile app (which runs on the Android and on the Mobile Web) scores of 7 for usefulness, 8 for ease of use, and 8 for coolness factor.
Check out the Federal Mobile Apps Directory including government native apps, hybrid apps, responsive sites and mobile websites which offer official information and services from the palm of your hand at http://www.usa.gov/mobileapps.shtml
Do not forget to check the bottom of the page should you wish to sign up for email updates or get an RSS fee.
I am going to download it to my Android now as GCN gave the Science.gov Mobile app (which runs on the Android and on the Mobile Web) scores of 7 for usefulness, 8 for ease of use, and 8 for coolness factor.
Check out the Federal Mobile Apps Directory including government native apps, hybrid apps, responsive sites and mobile websites which offer official information and services from the palm of your hand at http://www.usa.gov/mobileapps.shtml
Deep Web Searching with One-Step Web Portals
It is best to have many tools in one's toolbox when it comes to "Deep Web Searching." One tool that combines patents, news, literature, and social media is Biznar.com
Biznar.com is an example of a "federated search," where multiple sites are searched at once and more quickly than trying each one.
I might start with a Biznar.com search and see where it leads me. I have been surprised more than once!
What is great about Bizar is that is is FREE. My favorite is to search me or my company, along with having a google alert on yours truly, to keep up with what is or is not posted.
For more information on a "Federated Search" in medicine check:
http://federatedsearchblog.com/category/metasearch/
Thanks for stopping by and do not forget to set up an alert on yourself and your company! Rosa
Biznar.com is an example of a "federated search," where multiple sites are searched at once and more quickly than trying each one.
I might start with a Biznar.com search and see where it leads me. I have been surprised more than once!
What is great about Bizar is that is is FREE. My favorite is to search me or my company, along with having a google alert on yours truly, to keep up with what is or is not posted.
For more information on a "Federated Search" in medicine check:
http://federatedsearchblog.com/category/metasearch/
Thanks for stopping by and do not forget to set up an alert on yourself and your company! Rosa
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
"Mentoring Power" -- Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE & DISTRIBUTION
Contact: Rosa Raskin, rosa@raskinfo.com
Phone: 440.461.4125
Hot listed on Amazon the first day of its publication, the short Ebook is packed with useful information including how to mentor, career and vocational guidance are directed to fields in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), but the beauty of the findings is that the principles of good mentoring can be applied to any subject area.
Several leading programs are included in the Ebook with links to tools for mentoring programs on the international scene.
A new 2014 encyclopedic-type publication is cited in Mentoring Power entitled, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences an Ebook bargain at $3.99 at http://amzn.to/1xsNcCr and in paperback formats, two volumes combine to 1375 pages. The paper back copies are divided into Volume 1. Agricultural Economic & Plant Sciences and Volume 2. Healthcare Economic, Environmental & Medical Scientists. The book has 30 authors, some of whom served as editors of the project. I suggest scanning the Ebook version for anyone interested in the life sciences as some researchers move from the plant sciences to medicine, whether in print or Ebook format, the book has a section for everyone and the makings of a classic.
About the Authors of Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation
William Sharp has a background in biotechnology, translation of science into business ideas, spawning start-up companies and extensive technology transfer experience in the Americas and Asia. He has authored over seventy original research papers, abstracts and books. Dr. Sharp is currently a member of the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee. He previously held the following positions: Dean of Research and Professor of Plant Science, Cook College & Director of Research, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University; Executive Vice-President, DNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Executive Vice-President for Research, DNA Plant Technology, Corp; Research Director, Pioneer Research, Campbell Institute for Research & Technology, the Campbell Soup Company; Professor of Microbiology, Ohio State University; Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory and Eminent Professor, University of Sao Paulo. He was a Fulbright Grantee during 1971 and 1973. Dr. Sharp holds a Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from Rutgers University.
Rosa Raskin has a background in the sciences and information technology. She is a contributing author to two leading international trade journals. Her background on the bench in several life science laboratories gives her a unique perspective in combining her love of science with information. She holds a B.S.in Zoology, an M.S. in Microbiology, and an M.L.S. She recently published a book entitled, Walk Forward, wrote a chapter for the newly published book, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences, and is writing three cookbooks dedicated to those with food allergies and restricted diets.
Maria Shine Stewart is a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and has 30 years of experience in higher education as a teacher of writing, a publication specialist and editor, a volunteer in a career services office, a writing center consultant, a continuing education instructor on campus and in the workplace, and in other roles promoting student learning and well-being. She holds a B.A. in English from Cleveland State University and two master’s degrees from John Carroll University, in counseling and in English. She has been a career advice columnist, “A Kinder Campus,” for the free online daily, Inside Higher Ed. She strives to build bridges between the humanities and the social sciences with an emphasis on writing across the lifespan, wellness, creativity, and innovation. She led senior citizen community memoir workshops for many years and has taught at John Carroll University, Notre Dame College (Ohio), Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Ursuline College’s Teacher Apprentice Program.
###
Online Link to Press Release at http://raskinfo.com/mentoringpressfull.html
Contact: Rosa Raskin, rosa@raskinfo.com
Phone: 440.461.4125
Cleveland, Ohio – November 12, 2014, Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation [Kindle Edition], at http://amzn.to/1ubppqW supplements the known literature on mentoring with personal communications from leaders of major mentoring programs, provides a tertiary tool that organizes the vast data on the subject, and identifies a select group of major multi-institutional success stories.
Mentoring is key to innovation and depends on personal relationships, support systems, national and international collaboration, and commitment.
Hot listed on Amazon the first day of its publication, the short Ebook is packed with useful information including how to mentor, career and vocational guidance are directed to fields in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), but the beauty of the findings is that the principles of good mentoring can be applied to any subject area.
Several leading programs are included in the Ebook with links to tools for mentoring programs on the international scene.
A new 2014 encyclopedic-type publication is cited in Mentoring Power entitled, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences an Ebook bargain at $3.99 at http://amzn.to/1xsNcCr and in paperback formats, two volumes combine to 1375 pages. The paper back copies are divided into Volume 1. Agricultural Economic & Plant Sciences and Volume 2. Healthcare Economic, Environmental & Medical Scientists. The book has 30 authors, some of whom served as editors of the project. I suggest scanning the Ebook version for anyone interested in the life sciences as some researchers move from the plant sciences to medicine, whether in print or Ebook format, the book has a section for everyone and the makings of a classic.
About the Authors of Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation
William Sharp has a background in biotechnology, translation of science into business ideas, spawning start-up companies and extensive technology transfer experience in the Americas and Asia. He has authored over seventy original research papers, abstracts and books. Dr. Sharp is currently a member of the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee. He previously held the following positions: Dean of Research and Professor of Plant Science, Cook College & Director of Research, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University; Executive Vice-President, DNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Executive Vice-President for Research, DNA Plant Technology, Corp; Research Director, Pioneer Research, Campbell Institute for Research & Technology, the Campbell Soup Company; Professor of Microbiology, Ohio State University; Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory and Eminent Professor, University of Sao Paulo. He was a Fulbright Grantee during 1971 and 1973. Dr. Sharp holds a Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from Rutgers University.
Rosa Raskin has a background in the sciences and information technology. She is a contributing author to two leading international trade journals. Her background on the bench in several life science laboratories gives her a unique perspective in combining her love of science with information. She holds a B.S.in Zoology, an M.S. in Microbiology, and an M.L.S. She recently published a book entitled, Walk Forward, wrote a chapter for the newly published book, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences, and is writing three cookbooks dedicated to those with food allergies and restricted diets.
Maria Shine Stewart is a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and has 30 years of experience in higher education as a teacher of writing, a publication specialist and editor, a volunteer in a career services office, a writing center consultant, a continuing education instructor on campus and in the workplace, and in other roles promoting student learning and well-being. She holds a B.A. in English from Cleveland State University and two master’s degrees from John Carroll University, in counseling and in English. She has been a career advice columnist, “A Kinder Campus,” for the free online daily, Inside Higher Ed. She strives to build bridges between the humanities and the social sciences with an emphasis on writing across the lifespan, wellness, creativity, and innovation. She led senior citizen community memoir workshops for many years and has taught at John Carroll University, Notre Dame College (Ohio), Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Ursuline College’s Teacher Apprentice Program.
###
Online Link to Press Release at http://raskinfo.com/mentoringpressfull.html
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Authors of "Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation"
Follow me on Twitter at @RosaSRaskin
"Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation" [Kindle Edition], at http://www.amazon.com/
William Sharp has a background in biotechnology, translation of science into business ideas, spawning start-up companies and extensive technology transfer experience in the Americas and Asia. He has authored over seventy original research papers, abstracts and books in the field of plant cell biology including the five volume series entitled the Handbook of Plant Cell Culture. Dr. Sharp is currently a member of the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee. He previously held the following positions: Dean of Research and Professor of Plant Science, Cook College & Director of Research, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University; Executive Vice-President, DNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Executive Vice-President for Research, DNA Plant Technology, Corp; Research Director, Pioneer Research, Campbell Institute for Research & Technology, the Campbell Soup Company; Professor of Microbiology, Ohio State University; Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory and Eminent Professor, University of Sao Paulo. He was a Fulbright Grantee during 1971 and 1973. Dr. Sharp holds a Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from Rutgers University.
Rosa Raskin has a background in the sciences and information technology. She has taught K-12, physicians, health care givers, patient education, and university scientists. She placed 6 full text medical books on the internet in 1996, and was the webmaster for a 5 hospital system. She is a contributing author to two leading international trade journals, one for Asia and the Pacific Rim
APCJ) and the other covering Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East (PPCJhttp://www.polymerspaintcolourjournal.com/). She founded Rosa S. Raskin & Associates LLC, to continue her work in consulting, research, and innovative product development. Her background on the bench in several life science laboratories gives her a unique perspective in combining her love of science with information. As an information analyst she is called on to trouble shoot, turn ideas into products, and enable her clients to make things happen by securing the needed primary, secondary and tertiary tools. She has spent more than thirty years working as a researcher in academic medical centers, Fortune 100 companies, government, and special education. She holds a B.S. in Zoology, an M.S. in Microbiology, both from The Ohio State University and an M.L.S. from Kent State University. She recently published a book entitled, "Walk Forward," wrote a chapter for the newly published book, "Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences," and is writing three cookbooks dedicated to those with food allergies and restricted diets.
Maria Shine Stewart is a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and has 30 years of experience in higher education as a teacher of writing, a publication specialist and editor, a volunteer in a career services office, a writing center consultant, a continuing education instructor on campus and in the workplace, and in other roles promoting student learning and well-being. She holds a B.A. in English from Cleveland State University and two master’s degrees from John Carroll University, in counseling and in English. She has been a career advice columnist, “A Kinder Campus,” for the free online daily, "Inside Higher Ed." She strives to build bridges between the humanities and the social sciences with an emphasis on writing across the lifespan, wellness, creativity, and innovation. She led senior citizen community memoir workshops for many years and has taught at John Carroll University, Notre Dame College (Ohio), Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Ursuline College’s Teacher Apprentice Program.
"Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation" [Kindle Edition], at http://www.amazon.com/
William Sharp has a background in biotechnology, translation of science into business ideas, spawning start-up companies and extensive technology transfer experience in the Americas and Asia. He has authored over seventy original research papers, abstracts and books in the field of plant cell biology including the five volume series entitled the Handbook of Plant Cell Culture. Dr. Sharp is currently a member of the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee. He previously held the following positions: Dean of Research and Professor of Plant Science, Cook College & Director of Research, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University; Executive Vice-President, DNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Executive Vice-President for Research, DNA Plant Technology, Corp; Research Director, Pioneer Research, Campbell Institute for Research & Technology, the Campbell Soup Company; Professor of Microbiology, Ohio State University; Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory and Eminent Professor, University of Sao Paulo. He was a Fulbright Grantee during 1971 and 1973. Dr. Sharp holds a Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from Rutgers University.
Rosa Raskin has a background in the sciences and information technology. She has taught K-12, physicians, health care givers, patient education, and university scientists. She placed 6 full text medical books on the internet in 1996, and was the webmaster for a 5 hospital system. She is a contributing author to two leading international trade journals, one for Asia and the Pacific Rim
APCJ) and the other covering Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East (PPCJhttp://www.polymerspaintcolourjournal.com/). She founded Rosa S. Raskin & Associates LLC, to continue her work in consulting, research, and innovative product development. Her background on the bench in several life science laboratories gives her a unique perspective in combining her love of science with information. As an information analyst she is called on to trouble shoot, turn ideas into products, and enable her clients to make things happen by securing the needed primary, secondary and tertiary tools. She has spent more than thirty years working as a researcher in academic medical centers, Fortune 100 companies, government, and special education. She holds a B.S. in Zoology, an M.S. in Microbiology, both from The Ohio State University and an M.L.S. from Kent State University. She recently published a book entitled, "Walk Forward," wrote a chapter for the newly published book, "Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences," and is writing three cookbooks dedicated to those with food allergies and restricted diets.
Maria Shine Stewart is a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and has 30 years of experience in higher education as a teacher of writing, a publication specialist and editor, a volunteer in a career services office, a writing center consultant, a continuing education instructor on campus and in the workplace, and in other roles promoting student learning and well-being. She holds a B.A. in English from Cleveland State University and two master’s degrees from John Carroll University, in counseling and in English. She has been a career advice columnist, “A Kinder Campus,” for the free online daily, "Inside Higher Ed." She strives to build bridges between the humanities and the social sciences with an emphasis on writing across the lifespan, wellness, creativity, and innovation. She led senior citizen community memoir workshops for many years and has taught at John Carroll University, Notre Dame College (Ohio), Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Ursuline College’s Teacher Apprentice Program.
Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation" [Kindle Edition],
Hot listed on Amazon the first day of its publication, the short
Ebook is a
mere 547 KB packed with useful information including how to mentor,
career and vocational guidance directed to fields in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), but the beauty of the
findings is that the principles of good mentoring can be applied to
any subject area.
“Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation" [Kindle Edition], at http://www.amazon.com/
“Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation" [Kindle Edition], at http://www.amazon.com/
Friday, November 7, 2014
Mentoring Power: Key to Sustainable Economic Growth and Innovation [Kindle Edition]
I uploaded an Ebook to Amazon.com's KDP in 5 minutes this morning which included correcting several typos which Amazon's system noted.
However, it took me another 3 1/2 hours to fix some HTML on the back end, which I chose to modify as I thought it might not render across all devices.
The 3 1/2 hours included making a simple cover of my book from a photograph that I own.
This short book was in Microsoft Word, I exported it (saved it) as a Web Page -filtered,
an .htm (HTML) file. I followed the directions exactly as posted in Amazon's easy to follow
directions, "Building Your Book For Kindle" at
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2MB3WT2D0PTNK
The book has a long subtitle, but the title is concise.
http://www.amazon.com/Mentoring-Power-Sustainable-Economic-Innovation-ebook/dp/B00P9GZ2LM
The photo on the cover is yours truly with my great-niece a most serious reader (photo was
about six weeks before her 2nd birthday in Dec 2013).
The 3 1/2 hours included making a simple cover of my book from a photograph that I own.
This short book was in Microsoft Word, I exported it (saved it) as a Web Page -filtered,
an .htm (HTML) file. I followed the directions exactly as posted in Amazon's easy to follow
directions, "Building Your Book For Kindle" at
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2MB3WT2D0PTNK
The book has a long subtitle, but the title is concise.
http://www.amazon.com/Mentoring-Power-Sustainable-Economic-Innovation-ebook/dp/B00P9GZ2LM
The photo on the cover is yours truly with my great-niece a most serious reader (photo was
about six weeks before her 2nd birthday in Dec 2013).
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Walk Forward - follow me on Twitter @RosaSRaskin
It is the 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) and my lost sister's 79th birthday this week, so I will share a few secrets herein.
Per genealogy searching, repeat the search using the same source about every two years.
When it comes to cemetery databases, they are actively being created and data added to existing ones. Example: I just found the grave of my Uncle Leo Chimowicz in the "New Jewish Cemetery" in Prague.
I had searched the cemetery before in a general type search, but when someone gave me a clue and said "Maybe your family hitched a ride with mine, at the time of our release from CC Theresienstadt, to Prague?"
I re-zoomed in at the Cemetery in Prague and found my Uncle Leo Chimowicz's grave. I have studied the photos where he is buried, near the little tree in the photo below, have contacted the cemetery, have had someone go over to the cemetery and speak with the owners -- and hope someone I know can visit Prague one day so we can get the headstone set. Uncle Leo Chimowicz is the 4th down from top on the cemetery's computer system.
Per genealogy searching, repeat the search using the same source about every two years.
When it comes to cemetery databases, they are actively being created and data added to existing ones. Example: I just found the grave of my Uncle Leo Chimowicz in the "New Jewish Cemetery" in Prague.
I had searched the cemetery before in a general type search, but when someone gave me a clue and said "Maybe your family hitched a ride with mine, at the time of our release from CC Theresienstadt, to Prague?"
I re-zoomed in at the Cemetery in Prague and found my Uncle Leo Chimowicz's grave. I have studied the photos where he is buried, near the little tree in the photo below, have contacted the cemetery, have had someone go over to the cemetery and speak with the owners -- and hope someone I know can visit Prague one day so we can get the headstone set. Uncle Leo Chimowicz is the 4th down from top on the cemetery's computer system.
How to Shorten a URL (Web Address)
Since Twitter runs on 140 characters (including spaces) it is necessary to shorten URLs in every tweet.
I never noticed, but recently learned that there is a shortened URL on one's product page on Amazon.com
If one scrolls down to the "Share" button on the right side, about half-way down the page and clicks, one can see the Amazon version of the shortened URL for a book, for example.
The link to my book, Walk Forward, is http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Forward-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC and the Amazon version of the shorter URL is http://amzn.com/B009H6Y7AC
on the Amazon product page.
There are many programs available to shorten URLs and a great introduction to the field is included at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_shortening
Happy Shortening!
I never noticed, but recently learned that there is a shortened URL on one's product page on Amazon.com
If one scrolls down to the "Share" button on the right side, about half-way down the page and clicks, one can see the Amazon version of the shortened URL for a book, for example.
The link to my book, Walk Forward, is http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Forward-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC and the Amazon version of the shorter URL is http://amzn.com/B009H6Y7AC
on the Amazon product page.
There are many programs available to shorten URLs and a great introduction to the field is included at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_shortening
Happy Shortening!
Friday, October 31, 2014
Directions to Create Ebook from Word - Alternative to R.L. Copple's Great Directions
Amazon published some understandable directions for using Microsoft Word as the starting point in Ebook publishing, in "Building Your Book For Kindle." I personally do not use Word, but it is easier in some respects than Open Office, but Open Office has all the programs beat per its ability to create a perfect PDF per the standards required by CreateSpace as NOT all PDFs are the same.
I did get stuck on pagination and ended up going back and forth between Open Office and Word until I became dizzy in regard to the print copy, but for my Ebook, I created a MOBI file. My rationale for using MOBI was that it is amazon's language, but not all MOBI's are created equal.
Per Amazon directions, books with images differ a bit than books without photos.
Per moving your Microsoft Word document to publication in Amazon KDP, one selects "Web Page, Filtered," clicks on "Save" and if prompted per "removing office tags," click "Yes." Then close the document.
If images are included, go to the folder where you saved your book and you should see 2 files, a folder containing images and an HTML file containing the book. From there one simply continues to follow the directions, right click on the HTML file, scroll over to 'Send to" and on the menu that appears, click "Compressed (zipped) folder." A new folder with the same name will appear with a zipper on it. Drag the folder with your images in it onto the new zipped folder and this zipped folder is necessary for KDP upload.
KDP states, in the book contributors field, make sure you at least insert someone's name as author" --there is no way around having an author and a title for a book these days if you want your book to be easily found.
Author and title are considered basic metadata and I would go so far and say, if you DO NOT HAVE AN AUTHOR'S NAME IN THE AUTHOR FIELD, AND A TITLE IN THE TITLE FIELD, GO THE TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING ROUTE. Books are listed by subject area, and under the subject, alphabetical by author (editors generally not used as they tend to change).
In regard to KDP, if no author yet an editor is identified in the data uploaded about the book
(not referring to information on the cover of the book), the first editor becomes "author" in the database. KDP and Amazon issue publications using their database (the info one uploads along with a file which becomes the Ebook).
It appears that CreateSpace's background program does not automatically fill in first editor as
author per their program, but the searchable "author" field must include data, make the author's
name meaningful as #1 per book marketing is:
"Make the book easy for the customer to find."
Once the book is uploaded and successfully converted, it is most important to check it on as many devices as you can. I ran to the library, to local computer stores, asked friends how my book looked -- I did NOT use the directions above, but uploaded a .mobi file to KDP, but again WILL REPEAT, not all MOBI files are created equal.
Unfortunately, per checking links, uploading a MOBI file had me working in the dark, but to date my book renders correctly across current devices, -- my theory was if I used KDPs native tongue, MOBI,
it might be better? The answer is "Not necessarily."
Would I do it the same way again? I am not sure - assuming it would render across all devices, I would try the same 3rd party software I used the first time. I know that Amazon no longer supports 3rd party software and can not support any and all .mobi files.
However you load your first book, I guarantee there will be changes by the time you publish your second title; keep following the progress of self-publishing!
Remember, you need NOT upload the same file type for updating a book. You can change the file type you upload as long as it is in a format the Amazon server understands --- everything eventually goes
back to basic HTML, but you need not know it to publish your book.
Check with others who have self-published recently, check for free courses at your public library, or find a self-publishing course at your local community college. Try to meet up with someone who is a newbie like you at meetings or go for coffee. Self-publishing is a solo activity, but the process is not smooth and can be described as trying to catch a moving target.
Self-publishing is NOT rocket science, but it can give some of us more than a few headaches.
Realize the systems are not perfect, but make sure if you buy services that you are not paying for something that is offered by your targeted platform for FREE!
If you think you may need to do updates, try and limit the number of platforms you upload the book to, and remember the platform decides if/when an update is accepted and completed.
If you lack patience or are pressed for time, load your book onto one platform and see how it does, especially if you are going to try your hand at marketing.
Marketing is the most difficult part of the entire process. All the work until marketing is cookbook type, find a good set of directions and follow them. When it comes to marketing, never skip a 90 day period if enrolled in something like Kindle Countdown as you will never be able to make up for the lost promotion of the book, I know as became lazy and skipped a couple and watched my book go down, would it have ever gone down to #35, if I had kept up with the marketing? I do not know, but love amazon's book marketing efforts for those devoting their book to KDP, but please start your campaign about 2 weeks before the date of your KDP Countdown Deal! (check earlier blog posts per what to do before the Countdown).
A little known secret, but Amazon is very clear and states that Amazon decides when and if a change you make to your book after publication is worthy of an update. It is their choice. I did not understand this until I received and email stating that they were not sure that my changes constitute a "significant" change to my book and they emailed that they would be having a conference on it. Eventually, the changes were made, but by that time many had read the early version, and I gave up on uploading changes.
Their documentation states:
I found the Kindle Countdown works best as long as one begins the necessary steps about 2 weeks before. I have found nothing to date that will take my book from #35 to #5 but for the Kindle Countdown Deal, as Amazon advertises it, but you have to do your homework and read what one must
do before any successful Countdown Deal.
Walk Forward, have fun, self-publishing is an adventure, and each of us experience unique issues and original solutions.
I love book cover showing photographs of real people, and "Yes," I am promoting my own book cover herein. I created the cover below by myself (cover is my mother at age 21 in 1938 which I cropped from and old photo and rendered with FastStone and Inkscape).
I did get stuck on pagination and ended up going back and forth between Open Office and Word until I became dizzy in regard to the print copy, but for my Ebook, I created a MOBI file. My rationale for using MOBI was that it is amazon's language, but not all MOBI's are created equal.
Per Amazon directions, books with images differ a bit than books without photos.
Per moving your Microsoft Word document to publication in Amazon KDP, one selects "Web Page, Filtered," clicks on "Save" and if prompted per "removing office tags," click "Yes." Then close the document.
If images are included, go to the folder where you saved your book and you should see 2 files, a folder containing images and an HTML file containing the book. From there one simply continues to follow the directions, right click on the HTML file, scroll over to 'Send to" and on the menu that appears, click "Compressed (zipped) folder." A new folder with the same name will appear with a zipper on it. Drag the folder with your images in it onto the new zipped folder and this zipped folder is necessary for KDP upload.
KDP states, in the book contributors field, make sure you at least insert someone's name as author" --there is no way around having an author and a title for a book these days if you want your book to be easily found.
Author and title are considered basic metadata and I would go so far and say, if you DO NOT HAVE AN AUTHOR'S NAME IN THE AUTHOR FIELD, AND A TITLE IN THE TITLE FIELD, GO THE TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING ROUTE. Books are listed by subject area, and under the subject, alphabetical by author (editors generally not used as they tend to change).
In regard to KDP, if no author yet an editor is identified in the data uploaded about the book
(not referring to information on the cover of the book), the first editor becomes "author" in the database. KDP and Amazon issue publications using their database (the info one uploads along with a file which becomes the Ebook).
It appears that CreateSpace's background program does not automatically fill in first editor as
author per their program, but the searchable "author" field must include data, make the author's
name meaningful as #1 per book marketing is:
"Make the book easy for the customer to find."
Once the book is uploaded and successfully converted, it is most important to check it on as many devices as you can. I ran to the library, to local computer stores, asked friends how my book looked -- I did NOT use the directions above, but uploaded a .mobi file to KDP, but again WILL REPEAT, not all MOBI files are created equal.
Unfortunately, per checking links, uploading a MOBI file had me working in the dark, but to date my book renders correctly across current devices, -- my theory was if I used KDPs native tongue, MOBI,
it might be better? The answer is "Not necessarily."
Would I do it the same way again? I am not sure - assuming it would render across all devices, I would try the same 3rd party software I used the first time. I know that Amazon no longer supports 3rd party software and can not support any and all .mobi files.
However you load your first book, I guarantee there will be changes by the time you publish your second title; keep following the progress of self-publishing!
Remember, you need NOT upload the same file type for updating a book. You can change the file type you upload as long as it is in a format the Amazon server understands --- everything eventually goes
back to basic HTML, but you need not know it to publish your book.
Check with others who have self-published recently, check for free courses at your public library, or find a self-publishing course at your local community college. Try to meet up with someone who is a newbie like you at meetings or go for coffee. Self-publishing is a solo activity, but the process is not smooth and can be described as trying to catch a moving target.
Self-publishing is NOT rocket science, but it can give some of us more than a few headaches.
Realize the systems are not perfect, but make sure if you buy services that you are not paying for something that is offered by your targeted platform for FREE!
If you think you may need to do updates, try and limit the number of platforms you upload the book to, and remember the platform decides if/when an update is accepted and completed.
If you lack patience or are pressed for time, load your book onto one platform and see how it does, especially if you are going to try your hand at marketing.
Marketing is the most difficult part of the entire process. All the work until marketing is cookbook type, find a good set of directions and follow them. When it comes to marketing, never skip a 90 day period if enrolled in something like Kindle Countdown as you will never be able to make up for the lost promotion of the book, I know as became lazy and skipped a couple and watched my book go down, would it have ever gone down to #35, if I had kept up with the marketing? I do not know, but love amazon's book marketing efforts for those devoting their book to KDP, but please start your campaign about 2 weeks before the date of your KDP Countdown Deal! (check earlier blog posts per what to do before the Countdown).
A little known secret, but Amazon is very clear and states that Amazon decides when and if a change you make to your book after publication is worthy of an update. It is their choice. I did not understand this until I received and email stating that they were not sure that my changes constitute a "significant" change to my book and they emailed that they would be having a conference on it. Eventually, the changes were made, but by that time many had read the early version, and I gave up on uploading changes.
Their documentation states:
"If the changes made to your content are considered major, we'll send an email to all customers who own the book to notify them that an update exists. These customers can choose to receive the update through their "Manage Your Kindle" page on Amazon.com"Writing is fun, uploading can be inconvenient, but marketing is the most labor intensive and there are no magic bullets to find out what will work best for your book. It makes sense to target the population for whom you wrote the book in the first place.
I found the Kindle Countdown works best as long as one begins the necessary steps about 2 weeks before. I have found nothing to date that will take my book from #35 to #5 but for the Kindle Countdown Deal, as Amazon advertises it, but you have to do your homework and read what one must
do before any successful Countdown Deal.
Walk Forward, have fun, self-publishing is an adventure, and each of us experience unique issues and original solutions.
I love book cover showing photographs of real people, and "Yes," I am promoting my own book cover herein. I created the cover below by myself (cover is my mother at age 21 in 1938 which I cropped from and old photo and rendered with FastStone and Inkscape).
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Book Promotion Sites - Follow @RosaSRaskin (twitter handle)
Once a self-published, indie book is on a platform, the next step is marketing, which was discussed in earlier posts on this blog and is closely tied to distribution. There are many helpful promotion sites.
My recommendation is to get to aggregates sites, lists with addresses of FREE sites that will help promote your book and try them out. But keep track of what works for your book or you will be creating and recreating the wheel.
It is almost impossible to keep up with this if solo, yet some of us try our hand at various marketing avenues. As long as you keep track of at least what does NOT work for your book, you will avoid reinventing the wheel. In the end, "Distribution is King" as long as your book can be found easily.
If key metadata like title and conventional author are missing, it will be more difficult for others
to find the book -- even Facebook does not accept a book on my favorite's list if no author name
provided. Currently, they do not accept editors in the author field, using anything but a true author's name leads to a search error. Same goes for other metadata, try to search titles before you select one. It is probably impossible to have a unique title for long, but hopefully customers can find your book by the name of the author. If you can not use your name for some reason, try a "Pen" name, but try to avoid initials or shortcuts. If you can not fill in a name in the author field, maybe self-publishing is NOT the best route for you at this time, but do not give up as once again in the end "Distribution is King." and books are recommended by word of mouth.
If solo, without anyone helping or paying any third parties, which is the case for many of us, one may have to choose between writing content or marketing, thus aggregate sites like Crosbie's List on Indies Unlimited helps save time.
One of my 2014 favorites websites that "celebrate, educate, and promote independent authors" is Crosbie’s List of Book Promo Sites – 2014 on Indies Unlimited at
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/book-promo-sites/
My recommendation is to get to aggregates sites, lists with addresses of FREE sites that will help promote your book and try them out. But keep track of what works for your book or you will be creating and recreating the wheel.
It is almost impossible to keep up with this if solo, yet some of us try our hand at various marketing avenues. As long as you keep track of at least what does NOT work for your book, you will avoid reinventing the wheel. In the end, "Distribution is King" as long as your book can be found easily.
If key metadata like title and conventional author are missing, it will be more difficult for others
to find the book -- even Facebook does not accept a book on my favorite's list if no author name
provided. Currently, they do not accept editors in the author field, using anything but a true author's name leads to a search error. Same goes for other metadata, try to search titles before you select one. It is probably impossible to have a unique title for long, but hopefully customers can find your book by the name of the author. If you can not use your name for some reason, try a "Pen" name, but try to avoid initials or shortcuts. If you can not fill in a name in the author field, maybe self-publishing is NOT the best route for you at this time, but do not give up as once again in the end "Distribution is King." and books are recommended by word of mouth.
If solo, without anyone helping or paying any third parties, which is the case for many of us, one may have to choose between writing content or marketing, thus aggregate sites like Crosbie's List on Indies Unlimited helps save time.
One of my 2014 favorites websites that "celebrate, educate, and promote independent authors" is Crosbie’s List of Book Promo Sites – 2014 on Indies Unlimited at
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/book-promo-sites/
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Hindsight, the Best Directions for Making and Ebook and Paperback
After having published and ebook on Amazon Kindle, and a paperback, I have concluded that the best and easiest to follow directions are on a blog authored by R.L. Copple at http://blog.rlcopple.com/?p=508
I found that making a PDF with Open Office is fantastic and I love the product I received from Createspace. I will let you know if I feel the same after I upload a cookbook in the near future which is loaded with color photos.
I did not include photos in my current book "Walk Forward" but had decided to place them on a web site at http://www.raskinfo.com/walkforward.html. I also created blogs and a facebook page for Walk Forward.
I found that making a PDF with Open Office is fantastic and I love the product I received from Createspace. I will let you know if I feel the same after I upload a cookbook in the near future which is loaded with color photos.
I did not include photos in my current book "Walk Forward" but had decided to place them on a web site at http://www.raskinfo.com/walkforward.html. I also created blogs and a facebook page for Walk Forward.
New Kindle Countdown Deal this week, Sept 22-28
Check out my new Kindle Countdown Deal for Walk Forward from Monday through Sunday,
Sept 22-28, 2014 in the U.S. and the U.K.
Notice the UK is leading in this Kindle Countdown promotion for "Walk Forward."
http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Forward-Rosa-Raskin-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walk-Forward-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #64,692 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Sept 22-28, 2014 in the U.S. and the U.K.
Notice the UK is leading in this Kindle Countdown promotion for "Walk Forward."
http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Forward-Rosa-Raskin-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walk-Forward-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #64,692 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #5 in Kindle Store > Books > Children's eBooks > History > Europe
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
STEP-UP and Be a STEM Mentor: Mentees, STEP-Into STEM
When I walk around my local high school and neighboring areas, I see signs that read "STEM 2M." It seems as if the promotion of STEM, meaning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math is all around me. Sometimes I see it as STEM(M) with the second M meaning "Medicine."
Thus, I created STEP at http://www.raskinfo.com/step.html as a portal to some comprehensive secondary sources on information on STEM.
I was surprised to learn that STEM starts in pre-school and thanks to a recent book, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences, I received permission to post this photo of a preschooler here on my blog:
An interesting paper on STEM is in the works, and we hope to include a link herein soon.
Getting back to what does "STEM 2M" mean? Does it refer to $2M for STEM education in regard to grants at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14512/nsf14512.htm#pgm_desc_txt, Please notice the next due date for grant submission is November 6. 2014!
Thus, I created STEP at http://www.raskinfo.com/step.html as a portal to some comprehensive secondary sources on information on STEM.
I was surprised to learn that STEM starts in pre-school and thanks to a recent book, Reflections & Connections: Personal Journeys Through the Life Sciences, I received permission to post this photo of a preschooler here on my blog:
An interesting paper on STEM is in the works, and we hope to include a link herein soon.
Getting back to what does "STEM 2M" mean? Does it refer to $2M for STEM education in regard to grants at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14512/nsf14512.htm#pgm_desc_txt, Please notice the next due date for grant submission is November 6. 2014!
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Hidden Data Elements of a File, NOT a Secret!
In the last post I explained how to right click on a file, then click on Properties, and then click on the various TABS that come up including Security, etc.
Here is what the "Hidden" information on my file included, but it is not that hidden as I saw the information each time I worked on the file but did not pay attention to author entry, which included
a name of an unknown author in the author field of my paper. I wondered why there is a name in the hidden file that is different from my co-author or me?
And why is my name or my co-author's name not in the "Author" field?
I continue to investigate why the name is of a real person, but to my knowledge not someone working on my document. Was it this person's computer that the project was created on, or did that person really participate in the writing the document by editing something?
A more important question, if a family member borrows my computer, does my name appear
on all their work? If I borrow a friend's computer, is my friend's name on all my work?
In any case, journals say to delete any hidden data on the file before submitting and our first job was to find that data.
Now you can see my name, Rosa, as the author, but the journal we are submitting to wants "NO names"
in the Author Field, so I will delete any personal information at the last moment, before I submit the file to a potential journal publisher.
FYI, this information shows up when one right clicks on the file in Microsoft WORD, Open Office,
Windows.
If you are ever concerned about what hidden data might be on a file, just right click on it, go to "Properties," the last item in my Windows box, click on Properties, and check each tab presented
including "Security."
How hidden information on a file was easily changed in the days of DOS, was by using the file command "attributes" and designating whether certain attributes were permitted or not.
I could chose to permit "sharing" of the file," make it "Read-Only" so that no one can Edit, etc.
To see a sample set of Metadata from an article, see http://www.jotmi.org/index.php/GT/rt/metadata/1251/0
The next blog post will be on how to remove Hidden Information!
Here is what the "Hidden" information on my file included, but it is not that hidden as I saw the information each time I worked on the file but did not pay attention to author entry, which included
a name of an unknown author in the author field of my paper. I wondered why there is a name in the hidden file that is different from my co-author or me?
And why is my name or my co-author's name not in the "Author" field?
I continue to investigate why the name is of a real person, but to my knowledge not someone working on my document. Was it this person's computer that the project was created on, or did that person really participate in the writing the document by editing something?
A more important question, if a family member borrows my computer, does my name appear
on all their work? If I borrow a friend's computer, is my friend's name on all my work?
In any case, journals say to delete any hidden data on the file before submitting and our first job was to find that data.
in the Author Field, so I will delete any personal information at the last moment, before I submit the file to a potential journal publisher.
FYI, this information shows up when one right clicks on the file in Microsoft WORD, Open Office,
Windows.
If you are ever concerned about what hidden data might be on a file, just right click on it, go to "Properties," the last item in my Windows box, click on Properties, and check each tab presented
including "Security."
How hidden information on a file was easily changed in the days of DOS, was by using the file command "attributes" and designating whether certain attributes were permitted or not.
I could chose to permit "sharing" of the file," make it "Read-Only" so that no one can Edit, etc.
To see a sample set of Metadata from an article, see http://www.jotmi.org/index.php/GT/rt/metadata/1251/0
The next blog post will be on how to remove Hidden Information!
Friday, July 18, 2014
How Not to Write an Article
Before you start writing, decide the purpose of your article or your thoughts may be scattered!
What is your purpose in writing the article?
Is it to review the literature, post an opinion, document original research, or to advertise a service or product? Do not try to hide your purpose, it will show up in the product!
Have a few targets in mind, but understand the difference between a blog (max at 700 words, but the most popular blog posts are under 600 words) and an article in a peer-reviewed journal, which may not allow citations to secondary sources, opinions, blogs, etc. If you are writing a blog, check the length of the most successful blogs posts. If you are writing an article, try to stick to the word count, going over has impacts beyond ones you might think of in our online world and interfere with sponsorship.
Check out the complete "Instructions for Authors" before you start writing, including any footnotes or hyperlinks now as it will save you much time in redoing later! Collect the appropriate data from the onset, or you will be doing it on the back-end, and taking a ton of time to reinvent your wheel! Double check your links as you go, as unless you have much experience as a webmaster, it may be difficult to trace intended links.
The more you read your text, the more you may read over typos, but do not forget about the
hidden information included with any file, like a file's attributes or what I think is a much broader concept, the file's metadata.
Be aware of the hidden data elements of a file. I had completely forgotten about attributes of files until I worked on an article with my mentor of 40+ years and noticed a third name in our two-author article! Our names were not included but another name was. No matter what I tried, this third name would come up and I could not help but wonder, Why? I am still not positive per the "why?"
File attributes have been around since the days of DOS, but metadata is a broader and more recent term. A file has data connected with it, to describe the file. This data is called "metadata" and includes the author's name. I used to change "attributes" on a file by adding terms like Read-Only, Write, etc, and had forgotten about metadata, etc., and hidden information tagged on to file. The file information may be hidden, but most journals want the author field blank in regard to metadata, and for sure one would not want one author's name on the hidden file and another set of authors on the visible file!
If you are submitting an article as "anonymous," you are defeating your purpose if a name appears in the metadata. Some of the hidden data can be changed, some can not.
For example, in Windows, if one right clicks on a file, the attributes of the file appear, usually in a box. In both Microsoft Word and Open Office (open source), the metadata appears in each file, again on right clicking and then selecting "properties" of that file, then clicking on the various tabs including the "security" tab.
I am noticing that it is very easy to make changes in a document in Word, but Open Office is my choice for making the best PDF Files. Since I have been moving the text from Word to Open Office and back again, I have much extra code on my manuscript which needs to be as my mentor states,
"sanitized."
He copies and pastes the text into another Word file, I would write my document in simple HTML, look at it in a web browser, and copy and paste into my target word processing application as it is easier for me to write code in very simple HTML using notebook and hand coding, than to edit in any word processing program, especially features like tables!
I right clicked on a file called Blank 39 (below) and the dialog box opened with the last option as "properties." Click on "properties" and then tab over to "security," and check out the information.
What is your purpose in writing the article?
Is it to review the literature, post an opinion, document original research, or to advertise a service or product? Do not try to hide your purpose, it will show up in the product!
Have a few targets in mind, but understand the difference between a blog (max at 700 words, but the most popular blog posts are under 600 words) and an article in a peer-reviewed journal, which may not allow citations to secondary sources, opinions, blogs, etc. If you are writing a blog, check the length of the most successful blogs posts. If you are writing an article, try to stick to the word count, going over has impacts beyond ones you might think of in our online world and interfere with sponsorship.
Check out the complete "Instructions for Authors" before you start writing, including any footnotes or hyperlinks now as it will save you much time in redoing later! Collect the appropriate data from the onset, or you will be doing it on the back-end, and taking a ton of time to reinvent your wheel! Double check your links as you go, as unless you have much experience as a webmaster, it may be difficult to trace intended links.
The more you read your text, the more you may read over typos, but do not forget about the
hidden information included with any file, like a file's attributes or what I think is a much broader concept, the file's metadata.
Be aware of the hidden data elements of a file. I had completely forgotten about attributes of files until I worked on an article with my mentor of 40+ years and noticed a third name in our two-author article! Our names were not included but another name was. No matter what I tried, this third name would come up and I could not help but wonder, Why? I am still not positive per the "why?"
File attributes have been around since the days of DOS, but metadata is a broader and more recent term. A file has data connected with it, to describe the file. This data is called "metadata" and includes the author's name. I used to change "attributes" on a file by adding terms like Read-Only, Write, etc, and had forgotten about metadata, etc., and hidden information tagged on to file. The file information may be hidden, but most journals want the author field blank in regard to metadata, and for sure one would not want one author's name on the hidden file and another set of authors on the visible file!
If you are submitting an article as "anonymous," you are defeating your purpose if a name appears in the metadata. Some of the hidden data can be changed, some can not.
For example, in Windows, if one right clicks on a file, the attributes of the file appear, usually in a box. In both Microsoft Word and Open Office (open source), the metadata appears in each file, again on right clicking and then selecting "properties" of that file, then clicking on the various tabs including the "security" tab.
I am noticing that it is very easy to make changes in a document in Word, but Open Office is my choice for making the best PDF Files. Since I have been moving the text from Word to Open Office and back again, I have much extra code on my manuscript which needs to be as my mentor states,
"sanitized."
He copies and pastes the text into another Word file, I would write my document in simple HTML, look at it in a web browser, and copy and paste into my target word processing application as it is easier for me to write code in very simple HTML using notebook and hand coding, than to edit in any word processing program, especially features like tables!
I right clicked on a file called Blank 39 (below) and the dialog box opened with the last option as "properties." Click on "properties" and then tab over to "security," and check out the information.
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