KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited in 2019

Thanks to Chris McMullen for this interesting post. I’ve tried publishing without going through KU and also with KU. I find that I sell more books if they are registered with Kindle Unlimited. However, for the best of both worlds, I publish about half with KU and half without. Therefore if readers on sites other than Amazon see my books and read my total list of publications inside the front covers, then they’ll realise there’s more books available and then might hopefully look on Amazon. That’s my theory anyway!

chrismcmullen

Image from ShutterStock.

THE KDP SELECT DECISION

Years ago, Amazon introduced KDP Select to authors who publish with Kindle Direct Publishing.

The idea was to create a huge library of Kindle eBooks from which select customers could borrow books for free. Authors are paid a royalty, but not the same royalty as for an ordinary paid sale.

Although the nature of KDP Select has changed over the years, the program has grown tremendously.

Let’s reevaluate the KDP Select decision. Is enrolling your book in KDP Select worth it?

There really is only a single drawback to enrolling a book in KDP Select, but it’s a big one: You’re not allowed to publish the digital version of your book anywhere else (like Smashwords, Nook, or Kobo) while your book is enrolled in KDP Select.

It’s also an important decision because it comes with a commitment. If you change your mind, you…

View original post 2,052 more words

Advertisements

#OpenBook: Smell That? The Stench of Child Sexual Abuse

Wow. All I had to write about regarding the smells of childhood were the aromas of Dad’s leather wallet and binocular case, and Mum’s Nivea cream. They seem quite trite compared with what Lyndell Williams had to endure. My heart goes out to her and to all the other victims of childhood sexual abuse. My parents didn’t have much money, but I was one of the lucky ones. However, I never realised it at the time.

Lyndell Williams

#OpenBook

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

One of the things most people remember about their childhoods is the scrumptious mixture of scents of a well-cooked meal at home. The revel in memories of swirls of seasonings in the warm air wrapping them in comfort.

Well, that would not be the smell of my childhood—not totally. For me, caustic fumes of abuse defiled such wonderful aromas, threatening to completely choke out my humanity.

*Alert – Filters Down*

View original post 353 more words

Music and decorum

Another one of Jim Webster’s entertaining stories!

Tallis Steelyard

I mentioned some little time ago that I have an interesting account to how I came to be friends with Sneal the Peddler. Somebody has asked me about this story, I assume the rest just expect me to tell it in my own good time whether they ask me to or not.

To be fair, if fingers are to be pointed, or blame distributed, then Dame Ralash should take her fair share. Not of course that this will happen but still, I can but hope. You see it started when my lady wife, Shena, suggested that I might like to help out a friend of hers, Jinni; more formally known as Madam Sneal. Casually I asked, “An old friend?”

Shena, unusually, looked a little shifty. “Why do you ask dear?”

“I am trying to discover whether she was one of your fellow pupils at Dame Ralash’s school for ‘young maidens…

View original post 2,966 more words

Announcing My New Audio Book – Let Me Be Frank

Congratulations to Don Massenzio on the release of his new audio book.

Author Don Massenzio

I am proud to announce that my book, Let me be Frank, has been released in audiobook format. This is the second book in the Frank Rozzani detective series.

Here is a synopsis:

A young girl is senselessly murdered. The police believe the murder to be a random homeless casualty until it is discovered she has ties to Fat Sam and his mysterious past life in the Big Easy. 

Join Private Detective Frank Rozzani and Clifford “Jonesy” Jones as they travel to historic New Orleans and other areas in the Gulf Coast to search for clues in the girl’s trek to Jacksonville, Florida, that will help them uncover evidence implicating those responsible for the murder so they can be brought to justice. They soon discover that things are not as they seem. 

As the case progresses, the evidence uncovered has ties to the tragic events that drove Frank from…

View original post 96 more words

Reflecting on My Early Work – a third short story

An entertaining story from Don Massenzio, which reminded me of a holiday I had in 2017 that included a few days in New Orleans at Mardi Gras.

Author Don Massenzio

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’m getting ready to release my second collection of stories soon.

This week’s story was one that I wrote specifically to include in my first collection. It was never published as a single.

It was a story that came from a trip to New Orleans for work. I’m a musician and I was able to hear some of the best jazz musicians around and watch them play for tips in bars along Bourbon Street and beyond.

This tale is included in my short story collection, Random Tales,  a collection of unrelated stories.

My next collection, releasing on March 29th, will have four related stories that are essentially novellas. It’s been a long journey in four years.

I hope you enjoy,Play it again, Des, posted here as it exists in the book along with a prelude explaining the origins of the story.

View original post 11,236 more words

Not Everyone Will Like Your Story — That Doesn’t Mean It’s a Bad Story

Absolutely correct. What is awful to one person can be great to another. We writers cannot ever hope to please all readers all the time.

Novelty Revisions

One summer between college semesters, I wrote a book. I had only written several full-length novels before this, so it was not a publish-worthy book by any means. But I was proud of it. And after passing it around to a few friends who were genuinely interested in reading it (and did so — bless them!), I handed the book off to my mom.

She read it (bless her!) and gave it back to me. Of course I asked her what she thought of it, and because I was old enough at that point to handle the truth, she gave me her honest opinion.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it,” she said. “It was just too dark for me. Not my kind of book. But I’m proud of you.”

Aw. Thanks Mom.

This was the first — and certainly not the last — time I learned the difference between…

View original post 658 more words

Cover Reveal and New Book Announcement

Don Massenzio has a new book out on March 29th!

Author Don Massenzio

Well, after a great deal of time, effort and procrastination, I am happy to announce my new book, kongo.com, that will be released on March 29, 2019.

I thought I would take a minute to reveal the cover and announce that it is available for pre-order. Here is the synopsis:

Imagine a company so large that it touches the lives of the majority of citizens around the globe. Through technology, seemingly unlimited resources and philanthropy, kongo.com set out to change the world while making profits never seen before in business. 

Follow the actions of this behemoth company through four stories detailing the life-changing methods used to make the world a better place.

What could possibly go wrong? Read these stories to find out exactly what can go wrong, even with the best intentions, when one company’s vision is unleashed on its customers without their knowledge.

The book is a…

View original post 89 more words

Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – New book on the shelves – Special Pre-Order Price – Partners in Time by Stevie Turner

Tags

#paranormal romance

My thanks go to Sally Cronin for her help in promoting my latest book (paranormal romance), Partners in Time. Something a bit different…

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Stevie Turner has her latest book, Partners in Time, on special pre-order offer of 99p/99c until May 20th 2019.

About Partners in Time

John Finbow, a successful writer, and his wife Kay move into Southcombe Rectory, a large Victorian house that has been empty since the 1960s. It had previously been owned by the Cuthbertson family who had lived there for generations. Their marriage is under strain, as John, 39 would like children before he gets too old, but Kay, 34, does not.
When John is working in his study soon after moving in, he is disturbed by the sight of a young woman who appears out of the blue on his sofa. Emily Cuthbertson, whose old bedroom is now John’s study, was 25 at the time of her death and the youngest of 8 offspring of the late Reverend Arthur Cuthbertson and his wife Delia. Emily had died…

View original post 562 more words

15 Reasons People Still Think Being a Writer Must Be Easy

It’s not easy being a writer at all. Most of us need to find the time to write in-between working at our day jobs. Sometimes we can’t be bothered to write at all, but feel guilty that we should be churning out page after page of scintillating stories. I’m checking social media sites for only about an hour a day at the moment, as I’m having a rather nice time at my holiday home on the Isle of Wight. I’m letting it all slide this week …

Novelty Revisions

1. So many people talk about wanting to write that it seems both normal and easy to achieve.

2. Anyone — ANYONE — can publish a book, free of charge, right now.

3. We tell each other stories verbally all the time. Writing them down must be simple, right?

4. They’ve only seen mostly perfect, polished and published stories — never a rough draft.

5. Technically, everyone writes. They don’t think about how many years it takes to learn to write “well.”

6. Measuring writing progress/improvement is extremely difficult and, for many, not at all exciting.

7. They wrote a short story once and it was a breeze.

8. Their cousin’s friend’s sister’s aunt published a book on their first try!

9. Writing success stories always go right from “I’m going to write a book” to “I’m ready to publish a book!”

10. Technically, writing requires very few tools or…

View original post 194 more words

How Safe Is Your Online Data? (Infographic)

Thanks to Nicholas C. Rossis for this useful information.

Nicholas C. Rossis

I will conclude this special feature I started with my post, The Fight Against Fake News, with an infographic on online data, courtesy of TechJury. The infographic will show you how big companies that provide free service (read: social networks) get to know you better than your own parents and what they do with this knowledge. It will also help you learn more about the most common tactics used to get your data.

(Hint: if you can’t read the image below, please right-click on it and select “Open image in new tab,” then click on it to enlarge!)

View original post