Because of Google not allowing blueyonder.co.uk accounts to log into Google services, I've been forced to close this blog down and archive all previous posts.
Click here for my new blog!
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
xxx
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Saturday, 31 May 2014
To Hyphenate or Not To Hyphenate
While I'm in Goalden Sky limbo (Keith's about to put the description on the back cover!), I thought I'd blog about proof-reading. Loathsome, loathsome proof-reading, the necessary evil of writing a book.
It's true what they say about English. When we speak our own language, we take it for granted. I'm from a city, Liverpool, which has its own unique take on it, with wonderful colloquialism, regional accent and slang, but it was when I started writing seriously I began to appreciate the claim that English is probably one of the hardest - if not the hardest - language in the world to learn. I realised then that I'd taken it for granted all my life. Derived from the likes of French, Latin, Greek and Saxon, it is in fact a very odd, contradictory language in a way. We've done things to it we probably shouldn't have. No wonder people from overseas have a job getting to grips with it! I'm not too sure about the likes of French (of which my standard is O level), or Spanish or Greek (in which my granddad was fluent because he was from Greece), or any other non-English speaking nation, but I think English is about the only language where we play about with it far too much, confusing ourselves as well as visitors to our shores. It's full of homophones, those annoying words which sound the same but we spell differently:
wonder/wander
sale/sail
tail/tale
they're/their/there
stationery/stationary
and so on.
In my day job I audio type clinic letters for doctors. I'm forever inserting commas or semicolons to break up their long-winded sentences.
I'm in the process of writing self-critiques of my work on my website, and when I come to Goalden Girl I'll kick myself up the backside. It was the first book I self-published and the one where I found out to my chagrin I wasn't the great English language scholar I'd always prided myself on being. I used words I'd spoken in everyday life, but which I'd never actually seen written down in print. More of that in the critique. Now, five books on I have adapted and toned the craft of careful spelling of uncommon words with the help of a good dictionary, checking, double-checking and consistency, not only with spelling, but also with the use of punctuation and homophones: those annoying words which sound the same as another word but which are spelt differently. Then there's the UK v rest of the world spellings and alternatives. Kind of got those off pat, to be fair.
Where I do fall down all the time is with hyphenation.
When do you hyphenate? When do you not hyphenate? Can you go mad with hyphenation? I do sometimes. That's why I keep my dictionary close by (I like Collins online) - and then you find out that some dictionaries will hyphenate and some won't! These are the words I used to like hyphenating:
living room
changing room
dressing gown
washing machine
to name but a few, but Collins states they're not hyphenated words, so I've taken the hyphens out. Chambers says they are hyphenated words, and it also says 'dressing gown' is one word!
I always use the hyphen after words like self (like in self-publish) and half (as in half-past three). I know they're correct because that's how I've always seen them written down, but I've never seen quarter past written with a hyphen and it isn't in the dictionary. Would it be inconsistent to have half- and not quarter-? Or should I leave it as just half and quarter (actually I decided to hyphenate both!)
Kick-off is hyphenated when talking about the football, unless used in the context of someone kicking off when they're on one: 'Portia would probably kick off if she didn't get chosen for the team.' (In the Goalden books Portia tends to kick off quite a lot, she's that kind of kid!)
But why isn't semicolon hyphenated like semi-detached is? See what I mean? Weird language!
It's true what they say about English. When we speak our own language, we take it for granted. I'm from a city, Liverpool, which has its own unique take on it, with wonderful colloquialism, regional accent and slang, but it was when I started writing seriously I began to appreciate the claim that English is probably one of the hardest - if not the hardest - language in the world to learn. I realised then that I'd taken it for granted all my life. Derived from the likes of French, Latin, Greek and Saxon, it is in fact a very odd, contradictory language in a way. We've done things to it we probably shouldn't have. No wonder people from overseas have a job getting to grips with it! I'm not too sure about the likes of French (of which my standard is O level), or Spanish or Greek (in which my granddad was fluent because he was from Greece), or any other non-English speaking nation, but I think English is about the only language where we play about with it far too much, confusing ourselves as well as visitors to our shores. It's full of homophones, those annoying words which sound the same but we spell differently:
wonder/wander
sale/sail
tail/tale
they're/their/there
stationery/stationary
and so on.
In my day job I audio type clinic letters for doctors. I'm forever inserting commas or semicolons to break up their long-winded sentences.
I'm in the process of writing self-critiques of my work on my website, and when I come to Goalden Girl I'll kick myself up the backside. It was the first book I self-published and the one where I found out to my chagrin I wasn't the great English language scholar I'd always prided myself on being. I used words I'd spoken in everyday life, but which I'd never actually seen written down in print. More of that in the critique. Now, five books on I have adapted and toned the craft of careful spelling of uncommon words with the help of a good dictionary, checking, double-checking and consistency, not only with spelling, but also with the use of punctuation and homophones: those annoying words which sound the same as another word but which are spelt differently. Then there's the UK v rest of the world spellings and alternatives. Kind of got those off pat, to be fair.
Where I do fall down all the time is with hyphenation.
When do you hyphenate? When do you not hyphenate? Can you go mad with hyphenation? I do sometimes. That's why I keep my dictionary close by (I like Collins online) - and then you find out that some dictionaries will hyphenate and some won't! These are the words I used to like hyphenating:
living room
changing room
dressing gown
washing machine
to name but a few, but Collins states they're not hyphenated words, so I've taken the hyphens out. Chambers says they are hyphenated words, and it also says 'dressing gown' is one word!
I always use the hyphen after words like self (like in self-publish) and half (as in half-past three). I know they're correct because that's how I've always seen them written down, but I've never seen quarter past written with a hyphen and it isn't in the dictionary. Would it be inconsistent to have half- and not quarter-? Or should I leave it as just half and quarter (actually I decided to hyphenate both!)
Kick-off is hyphenated when talking about the football, unless used in the context of someone kicking off when they're on one: 'Portia would probably kick off if she didn't get chosen for the team.' (In the Goalden books Portia tends to kick off quite a lot, she's that kind of kid!)
But why isn't semicolon hyphenated like semi-detached is? See what I mean? Weird language!
Thursday, 15 May 2014
I Was So Happy, I Cried!
Last night my cover designer - our Keith - presented me with a mock-up of my Goalden Sky book cover and I burst into tears: a) because I was so happy to see something at last, and b) it's simple, which is exactly what I'm after, and after further tweaking, it will look great!
(Of course, he moaned it took him all day to do it!)
When it's finished I'll show it off on the blog. For now, I won't give too much away, but naturally the golden sky features, with Portia in her footie kit about to do a throw in. I have to think of a strapline, and he has to put a picture on the back. Once that's done, I can go ahead and get a print proof.
Keith pulled my leg about the crying. I think it was just delayed shock over Liverpool not getting the Premier League title!
(Of course, he moaned it took him all day to do it!)
When it's finished I'll show it off on the blog. For now, I won't give too much away, but naturally the golden sky features, with Portia in her footie kit about to do a throw in. I have to think of a strapline, and he has to put a picture on the back. Once that's done, I can go ahead and get a print proof.
Keith pulled my leg about the crying. I think it was just delayed shock over Liverpool not getting the Premier League title!
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Hands Up Anyone Who Would Dare To Self-Review Their Own Books!
Me - but not to put on reviews on sites or Amazon using an alias! I'm not that daft! What I've done is write short self-critiques of my books on my own website. Done two so far: Big Brother and Epiworld. Going to do Abbie's Rival and Goalden Girl shortly. I've done it because it's easy to think your book is the best thing to come into print since Gone With The Wind, but I know my work isn't perfect at all (Gone With The Wind isn't!) and I don't mind holding my hands up to that. Someone on Facebook said, 'Whoa!' but actually I found it quite therapeutic. Has it affected sales? Well, no, not really.
Yet if I announced I was setting up a page on my site inviting indie authors to self-critique their books I wouldn't get one single taker!
It's not easy to be self-critical, however. It's easy to say what you like about your book (and there's a danger you can talk yourself into thinking, 'Yeah. I'm right, that's good that bit!' when it may not be!) but not what you don't like. For instance, with Big Brother, I felt I could have given more time to the editing. This is reflected in a lot of the reviews, but I do have an excuse. Not only was I trying to juggle my writing with my work (which I do, anyway) but also with family problems. I was constantly in worry mode. I live 180 miles away from home and it felt like I was continually driving up and down the M6 for months. I'd spent nearly two years on Big Brother and I wanted to get it out, move onto the next book. Still, I know I should have given more time to it, but there you go. Most of the reviews have been well received so all isn't lost, but fair enough, it could have been better. All I can do is make sure I learn from my mistakes and do better next time.
Yet if I announced I was setting up a page on my site inviting indie authors to self-critique their books I wouldn't get one single taker!
It's not easy to be self-critical, however. It's easy to say what you like about your book (and there's a danger you can talk yourself into thinking, 'Yeah. I'm right, that's good that bit!' when it may not be!) but not what you don't like. For instance, with Big Brother, I felt I could have given more time to the editing. This is reflected in a lot of the reviews, but I do have an excuse. Not only was I trying to juggle my writing with my work (which I do, anyway) but also with family problems. I was constantly in worry mode. I live 180 miles away from home and it felt like I was continually driving up and down the M6 for months. I'd spent nearly two years on Big Brother and I wanted to get it out, move onto the next book. Still, I know I should have given more time to it, but there you go. Most of the reviews have been well received so all isn't lost, but fair enough, it could have been better. All I can do is make sure I learn from my mistakes and do better next time.
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
I've Got Good News And Not Too Bad News
The good news is:
GOALDEN SKY IS FINISHED, EDITED AND PROOF READ!
The not too bad news is:
the cover is on its way. He's made a start, lol. Told him last night the book was done and he said, 'Oh, suppose that means you want the cover then, eh?'
Therefore I anticipate Goalden Sky will be published in June.
2020.
(Nah! I'm jokin'!)
This time, though, I think I might put it onto Kindle the same time as in print, as it took almost three months for Big Brother to appear on the print lists. That could mean a lot of people might prefer to download it rather than buy the print copy, but that's the case with my other titles, anyway, and there'll be sales whatever way which is what I want. However, there are some who still like print books, so hopefully they'll buy it in print, too.
It will appear on Nook, but not on Kobo. Sorry, Kobo readers: can't risk it being interpreted as Gemma Kicks Balls.
GOALDEN SKY IS FINISHED, EDITED AND PROOF READ!
The not too bad news is:
the cover is on its way. He's made a start, lol. Told him last night the book was done and he said, 'Oh, suppose that means you want the cover then, eh?'
Therefore I anticipate Goalden Sky will be published in June.
2020.
(Nah! I'm jokin'!)
This time, though, I think I might put it onto Kindle the same time as in print, as it took almost three months for Big Brother to appear on the print lists. That could mean a lot of people might prefer to download it rather than buy the print copy, but that's the case with my other titles, anyway, and there'll be sales whatever way which is what I want. However, there are some who still like print books, so hopefully they'll buy it in print, too.
It will appear on Nook, but not on Kobo. Sorry, Kobo readers: can't risk it being interpreted as Gemma Kicks Balls.
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Hopefully Back On Track
March was a month I'd like to forget, what with scares over my Mum's health and then me going down with what the doctor diagnosed as erysipelas, a horrible skin infection that attacked the left side of my face and neck, made my eye swell up, and OMG did the itching drive me doo-lally! My skin was on fire (it's actually known as St Anthony's Fire), I looked like Harvey Two Face from Batman, felt like rubbish, and didn't want to do any work on Goalden Sky, promotion, blogging, or updating my website. Couldn't be arsed, basically.
But three courses of antibiotics later this nasty little infection has hopefully done one at last and I'm back on track. It wasn't the worst case of erysipelas ever seen (don't look at the images on the web, some of them are nasty!) and I look my usual beautiful self again now, lol; well, I thought I did until my new passport landed on the doormat the other day. I had a lovely smile on my old passport, but now thanks to the new stupid rules about not being able to smile now I look like one of Interpol's most wanted. Scary.
What also cheered me up was when Keith announced he'd made a start on my Goalden Sky cover! He has been very busy at work, but he also explained that because he doesn't use it that often, he keeps having to re-learn Photoshop which he uses to do the designing. With any luck, though, I'm hoping Goalden Sky can be published by July at the latest.
And then I can also change the background and avi on my Twitter account!
But three courses of antibiotics later this nasty little infection has hopefully done one at last and I'm back on track. It wasn't the worst case of erysipelas ever seen (don't look at the images on the web, some of them are nasty!) and I look my usual beautiful self again now, lol; well, I thought I did until my new passport landed on the doormat the other day. I had a lovely smile on my old passport, but now thanks to the new stupid rules about not being able to smile now I look like one of Interpol's most wanted. Scary.
What also cheered me up was when Keith announced he'd made a start on my Goalden Sky cover! He has been very busy at work, but he also explained that because he doesn't use it that often, he keeps having to re-learn Photoshop which he uses to do the designing. With any luck, though, I'm hoping Goalden Sky can be published by July at the latest.
And then I can also change the background and avi on my Twitter account!
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Do One, Life! Let Me Get On With My Writing!
Can't believe it's March already. It'll soon be Christmas! Well, OK, Easter.
It's the 13th and this is my first blog post of this month, thanks to more problems, one being me getting ill at the beginning of the month, then my mum ending up in hospital again and me running up to Liverpool every five minutes to visit her. That's meant, yeah, guess what, Goalden Sky's been put on the back burner yet again! It never rains but it pours! Fortunately I have one more edit after this left then hopefully (I've just been told) the cover could be designed within a fortnight (well, he's been too busy at work, hasn't he) and I can get on and publish it.
31st December 2012 I started writing it, over a year ago. Disgraceful! I wish life would get lost and let me get on with my writing!
It's also meant I haven't been able to publicise my other books, either, but I'm going to put that right this week. I have a new set of bookmarks ready for trimming (something else I have to wait for him to get round to doing for me...)
I've found out by asking on the Completely Novel Facebook page, a UK-based self-publishing company I've always been quite interested in, that they will accept author-owned ISBNs after all. At first they said no, but they seem to have changed their policy now. That's good news. I hear that Createspace and Lulu are offering their worldwide distribution programmes for free, so how will they make their money? It seems book prices might be raised. That's no good to me considering I write children's books, so now could be the time for me to look elsewhere.
I'll have to finish the stupid book first, though...
It's the 13th and this is my first blog post of this month, thanks to more problems, one being me getting ill at the beginning of the month, then my mum ending up in hospital again and me running up to Liverpool every five minutes to visit her. That's meant, yeah, guess what, Goalden Sky's been put on the back burner yet again! It never rains but it pours! Fortunately I have one more edit after this left then hopefully (I've just been told) the cover could be designed within a fortnight (well, he's been too busy at work, hasn't he) and I can get on and publish it.
31st December 2012 I started writing it, over a year ago. Disgraceful! I wish life would get lost and let me get on with my writing!
It's also meant I haven't been able to publicise my other books, either, but I'm going to put that right this week. I have a new set of bookmarks ready for trimming (something else I have to wait for him to get round to doing for me...)
I've found out by asking on the Completely Novel Facebook page, a UK-based self-publishing company I've always been quite interested in, that they will accept author-owned ISBNs after all. At first they said no, but they seem to have changed their policy now. That's good news. I hear that Createspace and Lulu are offering their worldwide distribution programmes for free, so how will they make their money? It seems book prices might be raised. That's no good to me considering I write children's books, so now could be the time for me to look elsewhere.
I'll have to finish the stupid book first, though...
Sunday, 16 February 2014
And Furthermore, Don't Even Think About Insulting The Author Whose Books You Are Reviewing...
...for a smack in the face often offends!
A good reviewer will weigh up the positives versus the negatives but won't go round calling the book 'bad' just because they don't like it, nor will they comment on things like grammar, especially if they live in another country where phrasing is different. If there was anything wrong with the grammar in Big Brother believe me it would have been picked up by someone more qualified than the deranged nutter who reviewed it - the editor, love! - and anyway who sets great store by formal grammar in a contemporary book? No one. If you want formal grammar go and read a Jane Austen!
Suffice to say I won't be featuring that particular review on my site!
lol.
A good reviewer will weigh up the positives versus the negatives but won't go round calling the book 'bad' just because they don't like it, nor will they comment on things like grammar, especially if they live in another country where phrasing is different. If there was anything wrong with the grammar in Big Brother believe me it would have been picked up by someone more qualified than the deranged nutter who reviewed it - the editor, love! - and anyway who sets great store by formal grammar in a contemporary book? No one. If you want formal grammar go and read a Jane Austen!
Suffice to say I won't be featuring that particular review on my site!
lol.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Before You Review...!
First of all let me say that although they're tough and rubbish to get, negative reviews actually don't bother me overmuch. One man's meat is another man's poison, and I know that my books aren't to everyone's taste. Whose are? All I can do is accept the review on the chin, learn from it, and move on.
Secondly, in all honesty, I have to hold my hands up and say that I didn't expect to get many good reviews for Big Brother. The theme was a difficult one to tackle, I was worried about the profanity (something which doesn't appear to have bothered many people), and also I wrote it in the midst of family troubles which I'm still dogged by, but which I've had to learn to live with. I felt I could have structured the book a lot better and spend more time on it. Still, that's no excuse and it's done now. Some readers have enjoyed the finished product and overall I'm satisfied with the comments I've received.
No, criticism doesn't bother me. What really hacks me off is when reviewers don't spend time to realise what it is they're reading.
Look at this review for instance, left for Big Brother on Amazon.com:
Big Brother - Not the book I thought July 13, 2013
It was not the book I thought it was so I started off on the wrong foot. Then, I thought there was too much gratuitous violence, and when I'd read more than half the book and it didn't let up, I stopped reading.
I've mentioned this review before and what annoys me about it is to me, it isn't really a review. It doesn't throw up the positives versus the negatives - the reader hasn't bothered to try to find any positives! - and it gives me the impression by 'Not the book I thought' that the reader bought the wrong book! There's more than one book out there called 'Big Brother'. The fact that the reader didn't finish the book doesn't bother me that much. It wasn't to their taste. OK, fine. I've still featured it on my website.
Now today I have received a new review for the same book which I'm not going to feature on my site yet because the reviewer is just 15 and I don't think it's fair to expose it because of their age. Reading between the lines I would say that the reader would have given it a 3/5 if given the chance, though the site doesn't grade. I will just say that it is an American review site I have used many times before and in itself this can be a problem for me: I'm English and therefore I often wonder how my style might translate. I won't give the whole review here, but the reviewer gives balanced opinions with positives and negatives which is the way it ought to be done. A comment is made about the book 'jumping about too much' and being 'confused'. I agree with that, it's a fair cop, though if I were defending myself in court I would explain that this was the whole point because Ash is living in confusion himself - evident why at the end - but still it's not to the reviewer's taste. This is fair enough. What got to me was this:
'Also, in one part there was something mentioned about making a call to the United States to call his father which confused me. Was Ash in some other country, and which one?'
God, are you serious!! When sending my books to the US for review I ALWAYS explain that my books are set in the UK and they know where I live. I mean let's look at the stark giveaways:
1. Spelling: all the 'ou' words like 'colour' etc, 'pavement' not 'sidewalk'.
2. Liverpool: Yeah, I know there's a Liverpool in the US and Australia too but er, we had it first. Where d'yer think the Beatles came from! It's where I was born and dragged up. Also Bristol is mentioned which is also in, guess where, England...! And Ash is a Manchester United supporter NOT a Liverpool or Everton supporter, now, which country do you think those teams come from?
3. Football: In the US it's 'soccer' (OMG I hate that word, as do many of my footie mates on Twitter!) Football in the US is our rugby but harder and without the soppy padding. I wouldn't talk about football and mention someone in a silly helmet and shoulder pads so wide they couldn't get through a door.
(No offence, lol!)
When the review said this, I thought dear me, hello, it's just Big Brother being sarcastic!
'And when Big Brother called Ash, Ashley, I was thrown for a loop wondering if Ash was in fact a girl...'
In the UK the name 'Ashley' is used both for girls and boys but I think all the 'he' and 'his' references were a major clue!
Otherwise, fair points made, but those above comments are just plain daft and ignorant. Overall the reviewer was disappointed that not more explanation was given in places but enjoyed the concept and the plot. I would just ask that before anyone makes a review please do some research about the author and look up info in the book you may not be familiar with.
Meanwhile, here's a great tip from the site that sent me my review: Amazon doesn't like third party reviews, but you can post any you get onto the Editorial Reviews section on Amazon! I'm going to do that!
Secondly, in all honesty, I have to hold my hands up and say that I didn't expect to get many good reviews for Big Brother. The theme was a difficult one to tackle, I was worried about the profanity (something which doesn't appear to have bothered many people), and also I wrote it in the midst of family troubles which I'm still dogged by, but which I've had to learn to live with. I felt I could have structured the book a lot better and spend more time on it. Still, that's no excuse and it's done now. Some readers have enjoyed the finished product and overall I'm satisfied with the comments I've received.
No, criticism doesn't bother me. What really hacks me off is when reviewers don't spend time to realise what it is they're reading.
Look at this review for instance, left for Big Brother on Amazon.com:
Big Brother - Not the book I thought July 13, 2013
It was not the book I thought it was so I started off on the wrong foot. Then, I thought there was too much gratuitous violence, and when I'd read more than half the book and it didn't let up, I stopped reading.
I've mentioned this review before and what annoys me about it is to me, it isn't really a review. It doesn't throw up the positives versus the negatives - the reader hasn't bothered to try to find any positives! - and it gives me the impression by 'Not the book I thought' that the reader bought the wrong book! There's more than one book out there called 'Big Brother'. The fact that the reader didn't finish the book doesn't bother me that much. It wasn't to their taste. OK, fine. I've still featured it on my website.
Now today I have received a new review for the same book which I'm not going to feature on my site yet because the reviewer is just 15 and I don't think it's fair to expose it because of their age. Reading between the lines I would say that the reader would have given it a 3/5 if given the chance, though the site doesn't grade. I will just say that it is an American review site I have used many times before and in itself this can be a problem for me: I'm English and therefore I often wonder how my style might translate. I won't give the whole review here, but the reviewer gives balanced opinions with positives and negatives which is the way it ought to be done. A comment is made about the book 'jumping about too much' and being 'confused'. I agree with that, it's a fair cop, though if I were defending myself in court I would explain that this was the whole point because Ash is living in confusion himself - evident why at the end - but still it's not to the reviewer's taste. This is fair enough. What got to me was this:
'Also, in one part there was something mentioned about making a call to the United States to call his father which confused me. Was Ash in some other country, and which one?'
God, are you serious!! When sending my books to the US for review I ALWAYS explain that my books are set in the UK and they know where I live. I mean let's look at the stark giveaways:
1. Spelling: all the 'ou' words like 'colour' etc, 'pavement' not 'sidewalk'.
2. Liverpool: Yeah, I know there's a Liverpool in the US and Australia too but er, we had it first. Where d'yer think the Beatles came from! It's where I was born and dragged up. Also Bristol is mentioned which is also in, guess where, England...! And Ash is a Manchester United supporter NOT a Liverpool or Everton supporter, now, which country do you think those teams come from?
3. Football: In the US it's 'soccer' (OMG I hate that word, as do many of my footie mates on Twitter!) Football in the US is our rugby but harder and without the soppy padding. I wouldn't talk about football and mention someone in a silly helmet and shoulder pads so wide they couldn't get through a door.
(No offence, lol!)
When the review said this, I thought dear me, hello, it's just Big Brother being sarcastic!
'And when Big Brother called Ash, Ashley, I was thrown for a loop wondering if Ash was in fact a girl...'
In the UK the name 'Ashley' is used both for girls and boys but I think all the 'he' and 'his' references were a major clue!
Otherwise, fair points made, but those above comments are just plain daft and ignorant. Overall the reviewer was disappointed that not more explanation was given in places but enjoyed the concept and the plot. I would just ask that before anyone makes a review please do some research about the author and look up info in the book you may not be familiar with.
Meanwhile, here's a great tip from the site that sent me my review: Amazon doesn't like third party reviews, but you can post any you get onto the Editorial Reviews section on Amazon! I'm going to do that!
Saturday, 1 February 2014
How Glad Was I To Get A Review In Print!
I waited ages for this review for Big Brother in the Self Publishing Magazine (the link does work but zooming in trying to read it will do your head in!) I sent them a copy of the book months ago, and I was wondering if they would ever get round to doing it, but they did, and it's not bad. Of course there are a few criticisms, which is OK, but on the whole I'm quite pleased:
'This is an intriguing concept; bullied teen Ash starts receiving messages through a Facebook game from ‘Big Brother’ who offers revenge on all his enemies. Pulled into a terrifying world of violence inside and outside the internet, Ash is forced to make stark choices between right and wrong in order to escape Big Brother’s clutches.
This has teen appeal and is very action packed and gruesome with a good twist at the end. However, the plot is sometimes undercut by what the author tells rather than shows. Ash is also rather an ambiguous hero – he doesn’t seem overly bothered by the fate of those around him. Depiction of life on the estate is very bleak, and the bullies are given very little in the way of a back story.
With a tighter structure this could have been more powerful, and a more focused moral perspective would have given it more edge. But it’s a good read, and captures a teenage register quite well with an imaginative and original story.'
Getting a review in print for a self-published book is really hard. Most like Publishers' Weekly or Bookseller won't touch SPs with a barge pole, so I don't bother asking any more. There should be more mags like Self Publishing Magazine to help indie authors get their work noticed and they're full of really good tips to suggest how to make your work better.
And they've done me proud before. Read their reviews on Abbie's Rival and Epiworld:
Epiworld Review (also on Amazon.co.uk):
'This is a face-paced adventure Young Adult time-slip adventure. There are plenty of thrills and spills and many curious and puzzling questions about time travel.
There is the intriguing questions of the link between epilepsy and temporal displacement – already explored to some extent in Debz Hobbs-Wyatt’s short story Jigsaw and Adam Rapp’s 33 Snowfish.
There is a good balance throughout of dialogue, description and action, though just occasionally a character speaks out of voice. The characters are on the whole likeable and rounded, – even the “baddies”. The story arc is satisfying and the resolution works. This is perhaps particularly more so because Morait has drawn on the archetypal Oedipus story. Travis falls in love with his mother and kills his father.
On the whole, the novel is extremely well crafted though one more edit may have benefited it well. Nevertheless, a good read.'
Abbie's Rival Review
'This is an engaging chicklet-lit story about the ups and downs of three teenage girls and their early love lives. It paints an accurate picture of what it is like to be a teenager, and a girl of this age would probably take great comfort from reading about Abbie, Shireen, Colette and their potential boyfriends. The setting is realistic in a familiar, factual Liverpool, and in an equally familiar but fictional comprehensive school.
Tracey Morait creates believable characters and makes her story interesting through a well-balanced mix of dialogue, action and minimal exposition. The dialogue is very natural – maybe at times a little too natural, with some of the slang expressions becoming irritating. At other times, too, the voices can seem to slip. Just one more layer of editing would have been beneficial to this book.
Nevertheless, the pace is maintained, the plot works and there is always cause and effect. It is surprising that this book did not find a mainstream publisher.'
Interesting that they keep banging on about the editing...
'This is an intriguing concept; bullied teen Ash starts receiving messages through a Facebook game from ‘Big Brother’ who offers revenge on all his enemies. Pulled into a terrifying world of violence inside and outside the internet, Ash is forced to make stark choices between right and wrong in order to escape Big Brother’s clutches.
This has teen appeal and is very action packed and gruesome with a good twist at the end. However, the plot is sometimes undercut by what the author tells rather than shows. Ash is also rather an ambiguous hero – he doesn’t seem overly bothered by the fate of those around him. Depiction of life on the estate is very bleak, and the bullies are given very little in the way of a back story.
With a tighter structure this could have been more powerful, and a more focused moral perspective would have given it more edge. But it’s a good read, and captures a teenage register quite well with an imaginative and original story.'
Getting a review in print for a self-published book is really hard. Most like Publishers' Weekly or Bookseller won't touch SPs with a barge pole, so I don't bother asking any more. There should be more mags like Self Publishing Magazine to help indie authors get their work noticed and they're full of really good tips to suggest how to make your work better.
And they've done me proud before. Read their reviews on Abbie's Rival and Epiworld:
Epiworld Review (also on Amazon.co.uk):
'This is a face-paced adventure Young Adult time-slip adventure. There are plenty of thrills and spills and many curious and puzzling questions about time travel.
There is the intriguing questions of the link between epilepsy and temporal displacement – already explored to some extent in Debz Hobbs-Wyatt’s short story Jigsaw and Adam Rapp’s 33 Snowfish.
There is a good balance throughout of dialogue, description and action, though just occasionally a character speaks out of voice. The characters are on the whole likeable and rounded, – even the “baddies”. The story arc is satisfying and the resolution works. This is perhaps particularly more so because Morait has drawn on the archetypal Oedipus story. Travis falls in love with his mother and kills his father.
On the whole, the novel is extremely well crafted though one more edit may have benefited it well. Nevertheless, a good read.'
Abbie's Rival Review
'This is an engaging chicklet-lit story about the ups and downs of three teenage girls and their early love lives. It paints an accurate picture of what it is like to be a teenager, and a girl of this age would probably take great comfort from reading about Abbie, Shireen, Colette and their potential boyfriends. The setting is realistic in a familiar, factual Liverpool, and in an equally familiar but fictional comprehensive school.
Tracey Morait creates believable characters and makes her story interesting through a well-balanced mix of dialogue, action and minimal exposition. The dialogue is very natural – maybe at times a little too natural, with some of the slang expressions becoming irritating. At other times, too, the voices can seem to slip. Just one more layer of editing would have been beneficial to this book.
Nevertheless, the pace is maintained, the plot works and there is always cause and effect. It is surprising that this book did not find a mainstream publisher.'
Interesting that they keep banging on about the editing...
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Me: You Won't Forget My Goalden Sky Book Cover, Will You, Keithie?!
Keithie: No, dear.
(He has a pair of ear protectors exactly like that!)
Saturday, 11 January 2014
There's No More Blogger ... :(
Well, that's not entirely true. Going to keep this blog going for my regular rabbiting stuff as there's historical info here I don't want to lose. My new website is now up and running and I've set up a permanent link to this blog from there on the side bar, too (on the Blogger badge!) Thank God. Ploughed on and got it done.
Annoyingly as I removed the other blogs I noticed I could have linked my personal domain name with Blogger. Oh, well...
And so Blogger as my 'website' is now no more. Everyone is now redirected to http://traceymorait.co.uk. Didn't take me as long to finish it as I imagined. I like the menu thingy, it looks simple, and it is, but it had to have a background. Looked a bit too plain before I put that on. I like the one I've chosen. I've also set up a Google Adwords campaign for it (they objected to the term 'young adults', said it was suggestive of porn!! so I had to change that to teens!) which is under review, but hopefully that will also get people to check it out.
So I hope to see you on my new site. x
Annoyingly as I removed the other blogs I noticed I could have linked my personal domain name with Blogger. Oh, well...
And so Blogger as my 'website' is now no more. Everyone is now redirected to http://traceymorait.co.uk. Didn't take me as long to finish it as I imagined. I like the menu thingy, it looks simple, and it is, but it had to have a background. Looked a bit too plain before I put that on. I like the one I've chosen. I've also set up a Google Adwords campaign for it (they objected to the term 'young adults', said it was suggestive of porn!! so I had to change that to teens!) which is under review, but hopefully that will also get people to check it out.
So I hope to see you on my new site. x
Friday, 3 January 2014
New Website Nearly Finished!
traceymorait.co.uk
Oh, yeah, and Happy New Year and all that bunkum. Actually I don't like New Year. It's gonna be more of the same old for me what with my mum etc - and one of us in our family has a 'landmark' birthday this year, too, OMG, I can't believe it! - but hopefully it's a year of more writing and I hope everyone who reads this has a prosperous 2014 even if I might loathe it myself.
Bah humbug! ;)
All my books are on my new site now, with their reviews. I have a Feedjit traffic widget, Twitter widget and Facebook widget on, too, as well as a visitor count. At the time of checking I've had 221 visitors. The only problem is, because the pages are linked to one post, the visitor count is the same on all the pages! Also my Feedjit isn't ignoring my location. Taking the cookies off as per some instructions I found didn't help and now my location is being seen on Blogger, too! The next job is to get the links to the bookshops on as well as ebook links (not just Kindle, also Nook, but not Kobo) and to make sure my list of other indie authors is on, too. The next dilemma is, what to do about a regular blog posting? Stay with Blogger or somehow link Blogger to Wordpress so that my regular posts link to both sites? I suppose it can be done. I don't want to abandon Blogger altogether...
If I'd had any savvy in the beginning I could have used Blogger and not Wordpress with pages etc and linking to a domain, but I didn't have the knowledge then and everyone was yelling at me to use Wordpress instead. The short course I've been doing has taught me a lot about pages and I like the template I've chosen, it's simple and the menu is the right colour, ahem...
Meanwhile, back to Goalden Sky. Unfortunately the cover is still low on the list of priorities for my husband and he wants to learn how to use some other version of Photoshop before he gets cracking on it (of all the lame duck excuses!) but I am now nagging on a daily basis. The book is edited and being proof read. I have a dilemma with that, too. Go for ebook first then paperback or both at the same time? As you know I use Lulu for printing but wanted to ditch them for Createspace because they took fifteen weeks to get Big Brother onto the lists which is plain ridiculous, but Createspace's wider distribution only applies to the US not the UK and that's no good for me. Being British I want my books listed on sites like Waterstones and The Book Depository as well as Amazon! So annoyingly I'll have to slum it with Lulu for a while longer until all my 10 ISBNs have gone, then I might move to someone like Completely Novel. I like the look of them...
Hopefully the next blog update will be to report that my husband has actually made a start on the cover. So far all he's asked for is image ideas and I've sent him loads! Big joke. I can't even get him to sort out his mobile phone issue at the moment...!
Oh, yeah, and Happy New Year and all that bunkum. Actually I don't like New Year. It's gonna be more of the same old for me what with my mum etc - and one of us in our family has a 'landmark' birthday this year, too, OMG, I can't believe it! - but hopefully it's a year of more writing and I hope everyone who reads this has a prosperous 2014 even if I might loathe it myself.
Bah humbug! ;)
All my books are on my new site now, with their reviews. I have a Feedjit traffic widget, Twitter widget and Facebook widget on, too, as well as a visitor count. At the time of checking I've had 221 visitors. The only problem is, because the pages are linked to one post, the visitor count is the same on all the pages! Also my Feedjit isn't ignoring my location. Taking the cookies off as per some instructions I found didn't help and now my location is being seen on Blogger, too! The next job is to get the links to the bookshops on as well as ebook links (not just Kindle, also Nook, but not Kobo) and to make sure my list of other indie authors is on, too. The next dilemma is, what to do about a regular blog posting? Stay with Blogger or somehow link Blogger to Wordpress so that my regular posts link to both sites? I suppose it can be done. I don't want to abandon Blogger altogether...
If I'd had any savvy in the beginning I could have used Blogger and not Wordpress with pages etc and linking to a domain, but I didn't have the knowledge then and everyone was yelling at me to use Wordpress instead. The short course I've been doing has taught me a lot about pages and I like the template I've chosen, it's simple and the menu is the right colour, ahem...
Meanwhile, back to Goalden Sky. Unfortunately the cover is still low on the list of priorities for my husband and he wants to learn how to use some other version of Photoshop before he gets cracking on it (of all the lame duck excuses!) but I am now nagging on a daily basis. The book is edited and being proof read. I have a dilemma with that, too. Go for ebook first then paperback or both at the same time? As you know I use Lulu for printing but wanted to ditch them for Createspace because they took fifteen weeks to get Big Brother onto the lists which is plain ridiculous, but Createspace's wider distribution only applies to the US not the UK and that's no good for me. Being British I want my books listed on sites like Waterstones and The Book Depository as well as Amazon! So annoyingly I'll have to slum it with Lulu for a while longer until all my 10 ISBNs have gone, then I might move to someone like Completely Novel. I like the look of them...
Hopefully the next blog update will be to report that my husband has actually made a start on the cover. So far all he's asked for is image ideas and I've sent him loads! Big joke. I can't even get him to sort out his mobile phone issue at the moment...!
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Gettin' Me Head Round Wordpress
Doin' me head in, more like!
Continuing with the online lessons. The domain name is linked now. One aspect I don't like is the navigation of the site. Find it a bit complicated. The next thing I had to do was to choose a theme - a free one, deciding not to fork out any more money than I had already on the domain name and the Wordpress link to it. So I looked for a few and tried them out and, yeah, they're OK, until I decided to change the colours or the font and found out I had to pay! But it was pointed out to me by Keith that people have designed these themes as a business and if they want some money to customise bits then I shouldn't be so stingy. That was telling me! So I chose one, and found out it wasn't so bad, and that I could customise the colours for nothing, even if I was stuck with the fonts.
This is it so far. Bit plain, but I'm working on it http://traceymorait.co.uk/. Not sure about the banner. Might do something else.
Got a headache now with the effort of getting that far so I'm jacking it in for the day and will continue editing Goalden Sky. Update on the Goalden Sky cover: he hasn't even started it, so I'll have to keep nagging! Meanwhile I have this week off work so I'm plugging away at my editing.
Continuing with the online lessons. The domain name is linked now. One aspect I don't like is the navigation of the site. Find it a bit complicated. The next thing I had to do was to choose a theme - a free one, deciding not to fork out any more money than I had already on the domain name and the Wordpress link to it. So I looked for a few and tried them out and, yeah, they're OK, until I decided to change the colours or the font and found out I had to pay! But it was pointed out to me by Keith that people have designed these themes as a business and if they want some money to customise bits then I shouldn't be so stingy. That was telling me! So I chose one, and found out it wasn't so bad, and that I could customise the colours for nothing, even if I was stuck with the fonts.
This is it so far. Bit plain, but I'm working on it http://traceymorait.co.uk/. Not sure about the banner. Might do something else.
Got a headache now with the effort of getting that far so I'm jacking it in for the day and will continue editing Goalden Sky. Update on the Goalden Sky cover: he hasn't even started it, so I'll have to keep nagging! Meanwhile I have this week off work so I'm plugging away at my editing.
Monday, 25 November 2013
My New Website Is On Its Way Soon, Promise!
OK, so my friend Shalini suggested: 'Create your website using Wordpress.' as she has a lovely one http://www.jewellerybyshalini.co.uk/ except I've never used Wordpress, so my husband Keith said: 'You will need to learn.' (No sht, Sherlock!)
So I found an online course, and I am in the process of learning, but I kind of jumped the gun. I found out how to direct the Wordpress link to a proper domain, told it my domain - and forgot I didn't have a blessed domain name! Then I had to buy a domain name. I chose GoDaddy for no particular reason other than it was the first site that came up on the Google search. Here it is, Exciting, isn't it? traceymorait.co.uk. Well, no, not really.There's nothing there 'cos I haven't got to the next stage yet which is to create my website.
Before I do all that I have the hassle and the aggro of connecting the Wordpress nameserver to the GoDaddy nameserver and vice versa. Thank God for the GoDaddy forum! I mean the GoDaddy domain cost me a couple of quid and for the privilege of using it on Wordpress it cost me £13, so it has to work, doesn't it? That in itself is my incentive to get my site finished!
Pity really. I've discovered too late that I can do the same with Blogger, which I'm used to, but let's see how I get on with Wordpress. I've started the lessons now. With any luck the site will be up and running early 2014. I hope I can transfer this blog to Wordpress, too, but one step at a time...
Meanwhile, back at the writing, all my books are now on Kindle, including Big Brother (£1.99, $1.99, Euro 1,99 and priced elsewhere in the world including Australia now!) and people are downloading. I've posted the Goalden Sky description on the front page of this site,given Keithie my ideas for my book cover...it will be published in 2014!
So I found an online course, and I am in the process of learning, but I kind of jumped the gun. I found out how to direct the Wordpress link to a proper domain, told it my domain - and forgot I didn't have a blessed domain name! Then I had to buy a domain name. I chose GoDaddy for no particular reason other than it was the first site that came up on the Google search. Here it is, Exciting, isn't it? traceymorait.co.uk. Well, no, not really.There's nothing there 'cos I haven't got to the next stage yet which is to create my website.
Before I do all that I have the hassle and the aggro of connecting the Wordpress nameserver to the GoDaddy nameserver and vice versa. Thank God for the GoDaddy forum! I mean the GoDaddy domain cost me a couple of quid and for the privilege of using it on Wordpress it cost me £13, so it has to work, doesn't it? That in itself is my incentive to get my site finished!
Pity really. I've discovered too late that I can do the same with Blogger, which I'm used to, but let's see how I get on with Wordpress. I've started the lessons now. With any luck the site will be up and running early 2014. I hope I can transfer this blog to Wordpress, too, but one step at a time...
Meanwhile, back at the writing, all my books are now on Kindle, including Big Brother (£1.99, $1.99, Euro 1,99 and priced elsewhere in the world including Australia now!) and people are downloading. I've posted the Goalden Sky description on the front page of this site,given Keithie my ideas for my book cover...it will be published in 2014!
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Keep Twisting, I'm Carrying On
Kobo: they can jog on. Won't bother trying to upload my books to them again. Kindle's better, anyway.
WH Smith: well, if they haven't seized the Kobo ebook scandal as an opportunity to get rid of all SP and small press titles off their catalogue, let them come out and deny it. As well as my Kobo title, ALL my print books have gone from their site now. In fact, after they had redesigned their site, I noticed my three earlier titles had already vanished. Big Brother has gone, now, too. Twist the knife in even further, why not? Well, I don't need WH Smith, either; and I'll be buying my Christmas cards elsewhere this year.
Meanwhile, I've had a look at the sites where I got my past reviews. Half of them have gone to the wall, making me glad I copied them to my blog! So I'm going through the links to see if they still work, and if they don't I have to state they're no longer online. Another kick in the nether regions! When you can't get Joe Public to give you a review these sites are all you have left.
Speaking of the blog, now is the time I really must start to think about turning it into a proper website. Yeah, I know, I keep saying it, but today I have my first Wordpress lesson...gulp.
Goalden Sky is coming to the end of its first edit. I've jotted down a rough synopsis, so I'll publish that soon, and give it to Keith so he can think about the cover.
Epiworld is on Kindle, and Big Brother is coming to Kindle soon, too.
Nuts to Kobo and WH Smith, they're not going to stop me from publishing my books!
WH Smith: well, if they haven't seized the Kobo ebook scandal as an opportunity to get rid of all SP and small press titles off their catalogue, let them come out and deny it. As well as my Kobo title, ALL my print books have gone from their site now. In fact, after they had redesigned their site, I noticed my three earlier titles had already vanished. Big Brother has gone, now, too. Twist the knife in even further, why not? Well, I don't need WH Smith, either; and I'll be buying my Christmas cards elsewhere this year.
Meanwhile, I've had a look at the sites where I got my past reviews. Half of them have gone to the wall, making me glad I copied them to my blog! So I'm going through the links to see if they still work, and if they don't I have to state they're no longer online. Another kick in the nether regions! When you can't get Joe Public to give you a review these sites are all you have left.
Speaking of the blog, now is the time I really must start to think about turning it into a proper website. Yeah, I know, I keep saying it, but today I have my first Wordpress lesson...gulp.
Goalden Sky is coming to the end of its first edit. I've jotted down a rough synopsis, so I'll publish that soon, and give it to Keith so he can think about the cover.
Epiworld is on Kindle, and Big Brother is coming to Kindle soon, too.
Nuts to Kobo and WH Smith, they're not going to stop me from publishing my books!
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Up Yours, Kobo! Use A Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut, Why Don't Yer?
A few days ago I was patting myself on the back for managing to upload Goalden Girl, my first book, to Kobo. After much hard work, Draft2Digital was recommended to me, and Goalden Girl was made available to Kobo readers because D2D is so simple.
Then, yesterday, I got this email from D2D, in relation to an article in The Bookseller:
We have discovered that over the weekend Kobo removed all books published through our account.
While we have received no official word concerning this issue, we believe this is related to recent articles in the media concerning erotica titles available at WHSmith and Kobo’s storefronts. However, Kobo’s response to this situation seems to have been removal of all books for any publishers (including distributors) that have offending titles until they find a solution.
I deeply regret that authors who have released books that are not erotica have been affected by this situation as well. We are working aggressively to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and we will keep you updated as we learn more information.
Not only has Kobo.com gone and removed my ebook from WH Smith, it has also removed it from its Kobo.com store. I tried re-publishing it and they won't accept it. I got another email from Kobo's Writing Life. I had tried to publish my book using their program but found it too complicated. However, it is the main platform for publishing all Kobo books. The email said,
As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms.
Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies. In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:
1 We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.
2 We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.
3 We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future. We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Our goal at Kobo is not to censor material; we support freedom of expression. Further, we want to protect the reputation of self-publishing as a whole. You have our promise that we will do all we can to ensure the exceptions that have caused this current situation will not have a lasting effect on what is an exciting new channel that connects Readers to a wealth of books.
Well, they have censored all material. I couldn't resist making a snotty reply:
Yeah, thanks for that.
I published my children’s book Goalden Girl via Draft2Digital onto Kobo, about a girls’ football team, which has been in print since 2007.
What’s happened is a hammer has been used to crack a nut. My title has been removed as well. I don’t think I’ll be bothering with Kobo again. (yeah, I mean it, too!)
This afternoon I received a further update from D2D
Late yesterday we received some initial communication concerning the titles Kobo removed from distribution. Kobo confirmed that the bulk removal was conducted in reaction to a spate of recent negative media attention. Their initial solution was to immediately remove from sale books from self-published authors and small presses as well as from digital aggregators like Draft2Digital until they pass an additional review by Kobo.
To our knowledge, Kobo has not yet begun the review process to reinstate any books. This matter could take some time. However, they insist that they have a strong commitment to free expression and to the self-publishing community as well. They have assured us that all titles that comply with their content guidelines will be fully reinstated.
We will continue to do everything we can to bring this matter to a timely and satisfying conclusion. In the meantime you have our sincerest sympathy for the interruption of your business and our gratitude for your continuing patience. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
In effect, Kobo have used a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They know that self-publishers and small presses will use a service like D2D to get their titles onto ereaders because it's free, quick and effective, but instead of taking time out to do a survey of the subject matter, genre and readership they've decided to take ALL independent self-published titles off their system.
OK, so it seems WH Smith have messed up with their catalogue and search engine, but why do we all have to suffer? If the fault is in the searching of titles, then isn't it up to their IT guys to sort it out so that it can't happen?
The WH Smith statement mentions 'offensive titles'. There's nothing offensive about the title Fifty Shades of Grey (still on Kobo as are some other erotic titles!) if you look at it in that context, but someone please tell me WTF is offensive about the title Goalden Girl?! I could understand it if Gemma was naked, painted in gold paint, and doing something rude with the football on the cover, but the poor kid just wants to play footie FFS! (OMG, what a horrible image!)
As I write the WH Smith site is down; but when it comes back up I don't know if I can be bothered to try and publish to Kobo again. Right now they can get stuffed. Literally.
We have discovered that over the weekend Kobo removed all books published through our account.
While we have received no official word concerning this issue, we believe this is related to recent articles in the media concerning erotica titles available at WHSmith and Kobo’s storefronts. However, Kobo’s response to this situation seems to have been removal of all books for any publishers (including distributors) that have offending titles until they find a solution.
I deeply regret that authors who have released books that are not erotica have been affected by this situation as well. We are working aggressively to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and we will keep you updated as we learn more information.
Not only has Kobo.com gone and removed my ebook from WH Smith, it has also removed it from its Kobo.com store. I tried re-publishing it and they won't accept it. I got another email from Kobo's Writing Life. I had tried to publish my book using their program but found it too complicated. However, it is the main platform for publishing all Kobo books. The email said,
As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms.
Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies. In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:
1 We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.
2 We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.
3 We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future. We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Our goal at Kobo is not to censor material; we support freedom of expression. Further, we want to protect the reputation of self-publishing as a whole. You have our promise that we will do all we can to ensure the exceptions that have caused this current situation will not have a lasting effect on what is an exciting new channel that connects Readers to a wealth of books.
Well, they have censored all material. I couldn't resist making a snotty reply:
Yeah, thanks for that.
I published my children’s book Goalden Girl via Draft2Digital onto Kobo, about a girls’ football team, which has been in print since 2007.
What’s happened is a hammer has been used to crack a nut. My title has been removed as well. I don’t think I’ll be bothering with Kobo again. (yeah, I mean it, too!)
This afternoon I received a further update from D2D
Late yesterday we received some initial communication concerning the titles Kobo removed from distribution. Kobo confirmed that the bulk removal was conducted in reaction to a spate of recent negative media attention. Their initial solution was to immediately remove from sale books from self-published authors and small presses as well as from digital aggregators like Draft2Digital until they pass an additional review by Kobo.
To our knowledge, Kobo has not yet begun the review process to reinstate any books. This matter could take some time. However, they insist that they have a strong commitment to free expression and to the self-publishing community as well. They have assured us that all titles that comply with their content guidelines will be fully reinstated.
We will continue to do everything we can to bring this matter to a timely and satisfying conclusion. In the meantime you have our sincerest sympathy for the interruption of your business and our gratitude for your continuing patience. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
In effect, Kobo have used a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They know that self-publishers and small presses will use a service like D2D to get their titles onto ereaders because it's free, quick and effective, but instead of taking time out to do a survey of the subject matter, genre and readership they've decided to take ALL independent self-published titles off their system.
OK, so it seems WH Smith have messed up with their catalogue and search engine, but why do we all have to suffer? If the fault is in the searching of titles, then isn't it up to their IT guys to sort it out so that it can't happen?
The WH Smith statement mentions 'offensive titles'. There's nothing offensive about the title Fifty Shades of Grey (still on Kobo as are some other erotic titles!) if you look at it in that context, but someone please tell me WTF is offensive about the title Goalden Girl?! I could understand it if Gemma was naked, painted in gold paint, and doing something rude with the football on the cover, but the poor kid just wants to play footie FFS! (OMG, what a horrible image!)
As I write the WH Smith site is down; but when it comes back up I don't know if I can be bothered to try and publish to Kobo again. Right now they can get stuffed. Literally.
Sunday, 13 October 2013
This Trained Monkey Used Draft2Digital To Create Her Ebooks!
Goalden Girl is now published to Kobo, and I've now just published Epiworld to Kindle!
I used Draft2Digital to do both. It's so simple, just takes the headache out of converting print to ebook, a trained monkey can use it. So this monkey gave it a go and got it right!
First of all, Goalden Girl to Kobo. I tried the actual Kobo program, Writing Life, at first, and didn't like it. It converted the Word document OK but editing was needed, and the editor was just too messy and complicated - and unlike Kindle it doesn't have a proper previewer. I downloaded the Mozilla epub converter and converted the Word to epub that was, but then found that Writing Life didn't like the epub file (which kind of defeats the object of the exercise when its job is to convert to an epub file anyway!) Then when a nice man called Thomas on the Nook/Kobo forum told me about Draft2Digital.
Draft2Digital is set up in a way that it will convert your Word document to suit the programs that ereaders like Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes will support after publishing. For preview purposes, it recommends different programs to view the files if any editing is needed.
For Kobo, it recommends Adobe Digital Editions, so I downloaded this. You download the epub preview, save it, and it will open in Adode Digital Editions when you open that program. This shows you how the book ought to look in a Kobo reader.
But Adode Digital is only an ereader, not an editor. I needed to tweak a few things, but how do you edit an epub? One way is to rename it as a zip, extract the files, and select each page or chapter you need to edit using Notepad as the files are converted to html. This is OK if you have a basic knowledge of html (as I do) but it's also long winded and annoying if you have to keep going back to it (this is how I used to edit my Kindle files, but not any more!) After doing this you rename the file back to an epub, and try to upload it back to Draft2Digital - which doesn't accept modified epub files for certain ereaders (iTunes) - but works OK for Kobo.
Fed up with html and Notepad, I discovered Sigil, an epub editor. I downloaded this (without the annoying add ons and toolbars which always plague me when I try to download some programs!) and when I opened the epub it extracted the files itself into xhtml files and I was able to edit without all the annoying html codes getting in the way. I didn't want the contents page Draft2Digital created for me, so I deleted that. The file was perfect and I was able to publish it.
Once done you can select where you want to publish to. I chose Kobo and four days later Goalden Girl was published to that edreading program.
Then, Epiworld to Kindle, and here I did it slightly differently. I ignored D2D's recommendation to use Mobipocket, which quite frankly I can't get on with and find a pain in the arse. Instead I downloaded the converted file as an epub again, used Sigil to tweak, and then I went into the Amazon kdp program to upload the saved epub. It liked it, and Epiworld is waiting to be processed.
Just one quibble...
When I first started uploading to Kindle there was only one preview reader to look at, a virtual simulated bog standard online Kindle reader, now there are seven! Kindle Fire, Fire HD, Fire 8.9, iPad, iPhone, Paperwhite, and Kindle! And when you check your file in all seven simulated previewers you will find to your irritation that they treat the file differently! In Kindle and iPad I have a short dashed line which appears between scene sections in the chapter. It doesn't appear in the other ereaders nor in the original document.
This is annoying, but there's naff all I can do about it. The main thing is it's laid out OK and you can read it.
Another annoying thing is that D2D doesn't seem to like extras from the Word document file like the dedication pages. It's desperate for you to add this to its layout, and in the epub this page is in the wrong place, but you can move the pages around in Sigil.
Epiworld available to download to Kindle for £2.99 UK price, £2.99 US price and Euro 2,99 in Europe. Goalden Girl is available now on Kobo for the introductory price of £0.78 p (because D2D puts this price in using US dollars and someone forgot to do a currency conversion!)
As D2D is so easy all my other books will appear on Kindle and Kobo soon.
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