Happy New Year!

  Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas

    I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New year !!

Christmas Depression

   Is anyone else feeling “Christmas Depression,” like me? I’ve been trying to get in the spirit, but I feel rather flat. We’re all supposed to be wildly happy this month. We’re supposed to be invited to lots of festive parties. We’re supposed to do everything “perfectly” at home a la Martha Stewart. We’re supposed to spend money on just the right gifts. All of this while enduring sanctimonious chidings that we’re not spiritual enough and we’re forgetting the reason for the season.

Am I the only one who will be just a tad relieved when it’s all over? I doubt it. From what I’ve read, millions of people get depressed because they’re not doing Christmas right. Everyone else seems to do it so much better! And, for a lot of people, Christmas brings back sad memories of disappointing holidays from the past. Maybe they’re alone, or their families are not the large, warm, Norman Rockwell ideals. They go to the same dining tables every year, and come away wondering why they don’t feel that elusive sense of “merriness” that they’re supposed to feel.

I think it helps to realize that we’re NOT alone. There are many who secretly feel just the same. We don’t have to feel guilty for not creating the “perfect Christmas.” We don’t have to feel shame if we’re less than joyous. We don’t even have to make up for it by volunteering at a soup kitchen to aid the needy.

We can just be patient, and get through the holidays as best we can. A little sense of humor helps, too.

6 Easy Steps to E-pubbing on Amazon Kindle

   Do you have a book that you’ve written on your hard drive? Have you been putting off submitting it to a traditional publisher, or you’ve had it rejected? Or maybe you have a backlist of previously published books, and the rights have reverted to you?

You no longer have to be at the mercy of editors, agents, and long waits. There’s a whole new audience for published e-books on Amazon Kindle. It’s free to publish on Kindle, and Kindle owners are enthusiastically purchasing and downloading books to read on the go. (Note: these are not just for Kindle owners; the books can also be downloaded to any computer.)

My historical romance novel, Gilded Splendor, was first published as a paperback by Dorchester, but the rights have reverted to me–so it seemed like a no-brainer to put it on Kindle. Click here to see how it looks at the site: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006N0LASC   At first, the process seemed overwhelming and scary, but I found it to be surprisingly easy. Here are the steps:

(1) Assuming your book is written in Word, re-save it as a “Web Page.” This is really an HTML page, and it will ensure your formatting will be retained with indented paragraphs, etc. Do not put any headers, footers, or page numbers in your book.

(2) Choose a pretty cover photo that is not copyrighted. I went to a site, Shutterstock.com, and paid $19 for the picture shown above. My heroine has red-gold hair, and I thought the photo was eye-catching and captured the feel of the book. For use on Kindle, save it as: At least 500 x 800 pixels, not more than 2000 pixels. Ideal height-width ratio: 1.6. 72 dpi (dots per inch). RGB color mode.

(3) Add your name and book title to the cover. A free download at Picasa.Google.com will allow you to edit your photo and add any words you want to it.

(4) Write a blurb for your book–what it’s about. Make it catchy and compelling. For ideas, you can study back cover blurbs of books similar to yours at the bookstore.

(5) Go to Amazon.com, and then to KDP, the e-pubbing place. They will take you through all the steps, adding the materials you’ve chosen.

(6) Market your book on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, GoodReads.com, and anyplace else you can think of.

Voila! Enjoy a sense of accomplishment, knowing that you did it, and your “baby” is out there.

How did I find out all this? By reading a wonderful book by Jason Matthews: How to Make, Market, and Sell Ebooks–All for Free. Although the steps above were the main ones for me, Jason’s book contains hundreds of other useful tips. It is, of course, available as a Kindle book at Amazon! I highly recommend it.

I’ll be honest and say this is not a “get rich quick” scheme. But it’s a lot of fun, and a wonderfully fulfilling hobby. And who knows where it might lead?

Next up:  I’ll soon be posting on how to publish e-books on other sites, such as Nook and Smashwords. As the ad says:

“Write anything. Publish everything. Market everywhere.”

I’m e-pubbed on Kindle

   My historical romance novel, Gilded Splendor, is now available on Amazon Kindle. (Note: you don’t have to have a Kindle to purchase and read it–you can choose to download it to your laptop.)

Here’s the Amazon address:    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006N0LASC

It wasn’t too difficult to e-pub my book, but it was a learning experience, and I’m still learning. I did hit two snags:

The choices only let me price it at $2.99. I’d been hoping to sell it for less.

I uploaded it as a PDF file, and the indented paragraphs didn’t translate. Formatting e-books seems to be a problem for authors, and I can see why.

I’ll continue working on these problems, but, in the meantime, it’s fun to see it online!

Merry Christmas!

UPDATE: Okay, I figured out the formatting. For those of you who might want to publish on Kindle, you DON’T upload a PDF file. You save your Word manuscript as a “Web Page,” which means it is saved in HTML format, then upload it. This will give you the right formatting.

Glendale Glitters

   Last night, I had the pleasure of attending “Glendale Glitters.” It’s an annual event where 1.5 million lights illuminate 16 blocks of Historic Downtown Glendale, making it the largest  free holiday light display in Arizona. It was my first time at this event, although I meant to go last year. Murphy Park was filled with lights, Indian fry bread and goodie booths, a huge outside screen playing Home Alone, an outdoor concert, and other delights.

I manned a booth inside the Methodist Church (on the National Register of Historic Places), where my P.E.O. group sold crafts to help women’s education efforts.

Lots of fun–especially seeing palm trees decked out with Christmas lights. I highly recommend it!

BO says, “Let them eat fruitcake.”

   In the Christmas spirit, BO recently threatened to cancel Christmas for Congress. It must pass his requests “or we can all spend Christmas here together.”

Meanwhile, American parents are being referred to a web site where they can rent toys for a month so they can provide some semblance of Christmas for their families.

Meanwhile, BO and Moochelle are planning another expensive vacation on the taxpayers’ dime. This time, they’re taking a $4 million, 17-day Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

I know there are bigger problems to address, but this is so emblematic of our arrogant, do-nothing “president.” Disgust can’t begin to describe my feelings about the lying leeches currently occupying our White House. 2012 can’t come soon enough!