Tag Archives: ebooks

Book Reviews

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On 11 November I published my first book, “The Girl At The Bus Stop” using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. As of today (29 November) “The Girl At The Bus Stop” has been downloaded 195 times. Given that this is my first book I am pleasantly surprised at what seem to me at least to be relatively good figures. However I have as yet received no reviews of “The Girl At The Bus Stop”. There is an old saying that “no news is good news” and I assume that those who have purchased my book are pleased with their purchase otherwise they would vent their displeasure by leaving a negative review on Amazon. I must confess though that I would like to receive reviews as it is always good to know that one’s work has given pleasure to others.

Prior to setting pen to paper (well fingers to keyboard to be pedantic) I had left several reviews on Amazon of books which I’d enjoyed and/or found particularly interesting. I must admit however to being guilty of frequently meaning to leave a review of a book which I’ve especially enjoyed but, in the end never getting round to doing so. My early new year’s resolution is to write reviews of the books I read both to help potential readers and to assist the authors in question. I’d love to hear from my readers so if you have read “The Girl At The Bus Stop” do please let me know what you thought of it.

Living in Wonderland

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I have written previously regarding the pitfalls of self-publishing using the services of a self-publishing company (see https://newauthoronline.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/eureka/). I contrasted the eas with which I published my first collection of short stories, “The Girl At The Bus Stop And Other Erotic Short Stories”, without having to pay a penny using Amazon, with the difficulties I am experiencing in attempting to publish “The First Time” employing the facilities of a self-publishing company.

I feel like Alice In Wonderland. Yesterday I received an e-mail from the Submissions Manager of the company who are self-publishing “The First Time” asking that I return the signed contract. The lady in question had some 4 weeks prior to sending her e-mail confirmed receipt of the contract and taken my credit card payment. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or throw my toys out of the pram. I chose to do none of these things and responded politely reminding the company that I had returned the contract and made payment. I’ve received an apology and been informed that the proof of my book should be with me by the end of the week (I’ve heard that before unfortunately so I am to put it mildly a wee bit sceptical.

Prior to using the company in question I took the precaution of Googling them with the result that no negative feedback reared it’s ugly head. It just goes to show that one can research matters until you are blue in the face and still find that you have been sold a pup. I am now at the point of thinking that if I don’t receive the proof of my manuscript by Friday that I will request the return of my money and publish “The First Time” on Amazon.

 

(For details of my book “The Girl At The Bus Stop And Other Erotic Short Stories” please see https://newauthoronline.wordpress.com/my-books/).

Eureka!

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On 19 November I wrote regarding the perils of self publishing (see https://newauthoronline.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/the-perils-of-self-publishing/). I bemoaned the fact that despite having paid nearly £400 to have my book published, over a month ago I am still waiting for the book cover image to be e-mailed to me for approval. I’m pleased to report that a bit of firm but exceedingly polite behaviour on my part has resulted in the publishing company promising to let me have the final proof next week so, with a bit of luck “The First Time” will be available for purchase at some point in December. I feel cautiously optimistic but I won’t believe it until I can click on links to “The First Time” and see my book available for purchase as an e-book.

Compared to the problems I’ve experienced in getting “The First Time” published, publishing “The Girl At The Bus Stop”, using Kindle Direct Publishing was as easy as falling off a log. I’ll see how “The First Time” looks once it goes live, however the ease with which self publishing on Amazon works inclines me towards using Kindle Direct Publishing for future books rather than shelling out money to companies offering self publishing packages.

Once “The First Time” is available for sale I will post links to it on this blog.

The Perils of Self-Publishing

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As an author I entered the world of self publishing like a naïve young virgin with little (if any) idea of the big bad world. I self published my first book “The Girl At The Bus Stop” on Amazon with only very minor difficulties and, best of all it cost me £0 to do so! However I am still waiting for what should have been my first published book of short stories, “The First Time” to be published as an e-book. Unlike “The Girl At The Bus Stop” I chose to use the services of an outfit specialising in assisting authors who wish to self publish when publishing “The First Time”. Their website states that books should appear within 6-8 weeks and be sent to approximately 200 e-book publishers for distribution. It is now around 1 month since I signed up with this company and as of today (19 November) I am still waiting for the book cover which I paid extra for to be e-mailed to me for approval. I’m beginning to wish that I’d gone down the road of using Amazon’s self publishing feature for both books not just “The Girl At The Bus Stop”.

I paid just under £400 for the privilege of having my book cover designed, the book formatted in order to make it suitable for e-readers and for the file to be sent to around 200 e-book publishers. I am, as I say beginning to question whether this was money well spent.

I would be very interested to hear the views of others.

Reading and the visually impaired

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E-books possess many advantages. Unlike print books one does not need to spend hours browsing around bookshops to find the book of your choice or, alternatively wait for several days for that print book you have ordered online to arrive. With the click of a mouse one can order Oliver Twist and have it delivered to the e-reader of your choice in minutes (often seconds). Again for those with limited space e-books are a godsend as a Kindle or other e-reader can hold a multiplicity of books in a tiny space. One group who have benefited enormously from the growth of e-books are the visually impaired. For centuries those with no vision had to rely on the kindness of family or friends to access the wonderful world of literature. Following the invention of braille a door was opened allowing blind people who mastered it to access books, however the number of titles availible in braille is tiny compared to the vast array of print books availible to sighted individuals. For the blind book lover wanting to read the classics, for example Great Expectations or War and Peace, both titles are availible in braille. However for a long time blind people struggled to keep up with the reading habits of their sighted family and friends as most contemporary literature is not availible in braille due to the costs of producing it. Again braille books take up a great deal of space (the New Oxford Book of English Verse runs to 10 thick braille volumes while it’s print counterpart is a single book).

The Kindle, the I-Pad and the I-Pod all have in-built voices (in the case of the more expensive version of the Kindle this is known as text to speech while Apple’s software is named voiceover). The technology allows people with little or no sight to access e-books opening up a world of literature which was largely closed to them hitherto.

To my knowledge Kindle’s web browser is not easily accessible (if at all) to blind people, however the visually impaired may access Amazon’s website using screenreading software such as Jaws which converts text into speech and braille and purchase titles with ease. Once a title is downloaded to the Kindle it is possible for a blind person to navigate around the menus, select books etc. While it is difficult for blind people to easily skip through the sections of a book using the Kindle, listening to a book from start to finish presents few (if any) difficulties.

Unfortunately a number of e-readers such as the Cobo are currently useless from the point of view of blind people as there is no ability for the visually impaired individual to have books read aloud. It is to be hoped that those manufacturers of e-readers who do not, at present build in speech capability will, in the future incorporate this facility making their products viable purchases for those with little or no vision. The world of reading should be open to everyone not just those who have vision.

(For my collection of erotic short stories “The Girl At The Bus Stop And Other Erotic Short Stories”, by K Morris please visit http://www.amazon.com/other-erotic-short-stories-ebook/dp/B00A6H75Y6/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353136476&sr=1-2&keywords=the+girl+at+the+bus+stop. If the link doesn’t work please visit Amazon’s Kindle Store and search for “The Girl At The Bus Stop And Other Erotic Short Stories” by K Morris).

Ebooks versus print

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I am, on the whole a huge fan of ebooks. The technology allows the user to carry around a veritable library of world literature in their hands. No longer need one trip over piles of books littering the floor in the spare room or spend ages dusting ancient tomes with a yellow duster. Electronic books unlike their traditional counterparts are instantaneous. With the click of a mouse one can order and have delivered in seconds War and Peace to the electronic device of your choice whether it be Kindle or I-Pad.
On the flip side I love the smell and feel of traditional books. One of my happiest memories as a child is of visiting W H Smiths and browsing shelves of children’s classics ranging from The Famous Five to The Secret Seven. It was (and still is) that wonderful scent of books which hits me whenever I enter Smiths or any other book shop. Ebooks have many advantages but scent is not among them!
I also like the permanence of physical books. Its wonderful to sit in a room surrounded by books. To take down a book at random and flick through it’s pages is surely one of life’s great pleasures. Physical books can (and do) last for centuries. There is something essentially civilised about entering a room full of books which I for one value. Where I to lose my Kindle I would be anoyed given the large quantity of ebooks I own. However I would be devestated where I to lose my traditional library. I simply can’t imagine living in a house without physical books.
For my ebook “The Girl At the Bus Stop And Other Erotic Short Stories” by K Morris please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/other-erotic-short-stories-ebook/dp/B00A6H75Y6/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352954780&sr=1-2