E-Publishing Predictions for 2013

Today I received an e-mail update from Mark Coker because I am a Smashwords member (that is, I have published to Smashwords and they see fit to send updates my way about their company).  Mark Coker, president of Smashwords.com, which is a wonderful vehicle for self publishers to publish their work for free in every format

3 Reasons I’m Getting My Own Domain Name

I’ve thought about it for a while, and have decided that on Monday my blog will no longer have the word “wordpress” in my URL.  It will only cost me $18 a year, and here are the benefits I will reap: 1. Professional Image – My blog will no longer be “just another WordPress blog”,

How to Use Scrivener to Create Easy Outlines

I use a little program called Scrivener created by the wonderful folks over at Literature and Latte (click the link to the right for more info).  It is a fantastic word processing program that meets all of my novel writing needs.  Today I wanted to you how easy it is to plan and outline a

5 Myths About E-Books Busted

  When I talk to self-publishers out there, I find that they have several misconceptions about e-books. Here are the myths: 1.  My book will do much better as an e-book because it will be more accessible to readers. 2.  Most people have e-readers now anyway. 3.  Customers can check out e-books from the library

How to Produce a School Yearbook Cheaply Through Createspace

I just finished my fourteenth year of teaching English at the high school level and look forward to a fifteenth.  I think back to when I started, and how I was roped in to teaching a yearbook class because I really needed the job and thought that if I took on some electives, it would

Google Zeitgeist: How a Writer Uses Trends

As a fiction writer, it is important to know your audience.  If you have never done any research to discover what demographic your proposed novel might reach (or not reach) then you may be wasting valuable time writing a novel that no one will read. Google Zeitgeist is a fantastic engine created to show researchers

How to Use Scrivener to Format an e-Book for Kindle and Nook

You all know how I feel about Scrivener, but it is truly the best program for novelists out there.  For $49 it’s a steal and it is really not that complicated to use.  Today I thought I would show you how to format a Kindle .mobi file and an .epub file that is used on

My New e-Short Story is Up

A short story I submitted to Kindle Singles is now up.  It is available on Amazon Kindle and on the Nook.  I formatted the book for Kindle and for Nook using Scrivener. …and hey, it’s only .99 cents! The Kindle version is found here. The Nook version is found here. If you buy a copy,