E PUBLISHING? HOW DO I DO THAT? WHERE DO I DO THAT? BY Chris Keys
Author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Due summer 2010 & The Fishing Trip-A Ghost Story-eBook-soon?
Well as life goes along I find that everyday there is something new to learn. Today is no different. I’ve recently finished my second short story and I’m wondering, what I do with a short story. I mean it’s too small to print as a book and it’s too large to submit as an article to a magazine, so what do I do with it?
I was reading a blog somewhere, and wouldn’t you know it, I have forgotten where I saw the blog, but it talked about selling books through e publishing. He claimed to see sales of his seven or eight books over the last year of twenty thousand plus downloads and having made on average something like four dollars and change a book. Now that’s not bad for short books about topics like how to cut wood for your fire place and then build the prefect fire. Really, people will buy something like that? Of course he had couple of crime novels as well which sold for more money.
How real are these claims? Can we really sell that many books as e books? Can we really make that kind of money from them? I mean that’s as good as the numbers thrown about by publishers for paperback books.
So I went looking for the e publishers, and low and behold, there are thousands of them. Of course, I couldn’t seem to find out, what they charged to save my life, but there they were. They were all quick to point out that they were friendly, easy to work with, but they didn’t exactly make the contract easy to find or their prices easy to find either. In fact of the fifteen to twenty sites I looked at I got so bogged down in the technical aspect of the process, which they were all real big on explaining, I gave up and decided I’d write this blog instead.
I would think, they would make their site as easy as possible for the non computer savvy person to find their way to the important stuff and have a package ready and waiting for them, that just takes their book and publishes it in e format. Something that would let a writer like myself turn over the manuscript, edited and ready to go and they’d make a cover, do the formatting and provide the proper listings, where ever eBooks get listed, and that would be that.
Not that I found. Now that doesn’t mean it wasn’t right there in my face and I just missed it. That happens, just ask my wife. So I need some help. Anybody know how to get your e Book published without having to learn a new computer language to convert word to PDF? What is PDF anyway? I still am not completely up to date with the word program I now have. When my last computer died, I went word ’97 to word XP and I still can’t figure out all the stuff they changed to make it better. More confusing is what I say. I understand typewriters and word processing from back in the last century. Does anyone under forty remember typewriters?
Ok, back on subject, HELP, I want to publish my short stories as E books and I haven’t a clue how! Any recommendations for publishers? Do you know where they list the eBooks for sale other than on Amazon? What’s a reasonable cost? Chris Keys
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Getting started a s a writer-traditional vs POD by Chris Keys author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Well another golden opportunity to inflict upon the unsuspecting public an opinion piece of minor importance and yet great significance as long as you don't look too close or have more expertise than me. Based on my twenty five plus years of sale experience mixed with my year of book marketing savvy, I hope to help you understand and make sense of the ever changing world of book publishing.
If I were writing this, three months ago, I'd have a different perspective. Three months ago, I was thinking I had an agent, a publisher and I was on my way to literary greatness. However, I was being duped. The agent I thought I had impressed and had wanted to represent me, really was only looking to collect fees for editing, critiquing, proof reading, reviewing and reediting.
The Publisher that made me the offer to buy my book was working with the agent to collect still more fees. They are under investigation for fraudulent business practices; and they had seemed so interested in my work. I had thought I had this incredible book and that they were as happy with my style and writing abilities as I was. I believed that they'd help do a final edit and then it was on to literary stardom for me. I still dream of that, and I will get there, just not with that publisher. I discovered the editor, the one suggested by the agent, wasn't even reading my book. They sent me corrections that included characters I didn't have and a story line that wasn't mine. When questioned this, they stopped helping, but kept my money.
So after having my hopes dashed, it was back to sending out inquiry letters and making submissions, to overwhelmed Publishers, who take a year to eighteen months to publish. I'd just done that and discovered they were looking to collect fees, not to sell my book. I highly suggest that anything you send to anyone be highly polished, edited for content and context, so that what your sending them is the best you can do, because it's a money game and they don't want to work with anyone they have to invest too much in, whether it's time or money. Which brings me to the alternative.
Self publishing, what used to be called vanity publishing. To the traditional publishers in New York, LA or London, a self published book is a vanity book and it's definitely an inferior product. However, that may have been true twenty or thirty years or even months ago, it is not so today. I know of two books, self published that are being made into movies, big budget films. The vanity publishing genre has evolved into a profitable Print on Demand Publishing Industry.
The traditional publisher will handle everything for you and pay you for the privilege of selling your book, a whole, if you’re really hot, 20-22% of profit. On average it 12% and in many first time book authors cases it's 7%. If you self publish, your can receive any where from 30 to 70% of the profit, after the cost of printing and handling. Roughly, based on averages costs, you'll receive about three times the money as the best traditional contract will bring in, unless your well established and a big seller or a celebrity. You'll make three times the money, self publishing.
I wouldn't have done the research into the different ways I could be published, if I hadn't been duded so, I guess it was actually a good thing, because now I can make a better, more educated choice of how I wish to be published. The sales statistics show a dead heat between books marketed by the traditional publishers and those of the self published. Traditional Publishers do no put out big bucks for advances or to get you advertised, if your new and not a celebrity. You get lumped in the pile with the rest and its up to you to get reviews done and find ways to get the word out about your book. Nothing will happen as far as moeny expenditures go until you sell the magic number. That number could be 1,000 copies, 5,000 copies, or 10,000 copies or more. Until you hit whatever number they assign your book, you’re just like the self published authors. If your self published book, hits the magic number many times the big publishers come looking for you and then you just might get the big bucks contract, where all you do is write and sign a few books. But with the industry in such a state of flux that too may soon go the way of the old method of publishing, where you had no choice, unless you were rich but to wait on the big publishers to anoint you, author.
If you go with a good Print on Demand Publisher they will have the same distribution capabilities and opportunities as the traditional publishers so there is no advantage to having to jump through all of the hoops and be subjected to internal review after internal review and the long wait to be published as a new or fairly new writer. Usually anywhere from a year to eighteen months from the date you sign a contract.
So unless you have a dream of being with a New York Publisher because you've just got to have the prestige of it, self publish. I'll talk more about how to go about that soon but times are changing and the quicker you can get your quality product in front of the people, the readers, the sooner you'll start cashing your royalty checks. So now that you've decide to self publish, you now have to pick a self publishing publisher. We'll check that out next. What I think the do's and don’ts are what you can expect as far as costs go and some ideas to make sure it pays off in sales.
As with anything that you read, anywhere at anytime. Check the facts. Check it out and make sure the writer got it right, especially me.
Chris Keys-Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!
If I were writing this, three months ago, I'd have a different perspective. Three months ago, I was thinking I had an agent, a publisher and I was on my way to literary greatness. However, I was being duped. The agent I thought I had impressed and had wanted to represent me, really was only looking to collect fees for editing, critiquing, proof reading, reviewing and reediting.
The Publisher that made me the offer to buy my book was working with the agent to collect still more fees. They are under investigation for fraudulent business practices; and they had seemed so interested in my work. I had thought I had this incredible book and that they were as happy with my style and writing abilities as I was. I believed that they'd help do a final edit and then it was on to literary stardom for me. I still dream of that, and I will get there, just not with that publisher. I discovered the editor, the one suggested by the agent, wasn't even reading my book. They sent me corrections that included characters I didn't have and a story line that wasn't mine. When questioned this, they stopped helping, but kept my money.
So after having my hopes dashed, it was back to sending out inquiry letters and making submissions, to overwhelmed Publishers, who take a year to eighteen months to publish. I'd just done that and discovered they were looking to collect fees, not to sell my book. I highly suggest that anything you send to anyone be highly polished, edited for content and context, so that what your sending them is the best you can do, because it's a money game and they don't want to work with anyone they have to invest too much in, whether it's time or money. Which brings me to the alternative.
Self publishing, what used to be called vanity publishing. To the traditional publishers in New York, LA or London, a self published book is a vanity book and it's definitely an inferior product. However, that may have been true twenty or thirty years or even months ago, it is not so today. I know of two books, self published that are being made into movies, big budget films. The vanity publishing genre has evolved into a profitable Print on Demand Publishing Industry.
The traditional publisher will handle everything for you and pay you for the privilege of selling your book, a whole, if you’re really hot, 20-22% of profit. On average it 12% and in many first time book authors cases it's 7%. If you self publish, your can receive any where from 30 to 70% of the profit, after the cost of printing and handling. Roughly, based on averages costs, you'll receive about three times the money as the best traditional contract will bring in, unless your well established and a big seller or a celebrity. You'll make three times the money, self publishing.
I wouldn't have done the research into the different ways I could be published, if I hadn't been duded so, I guess it was actually a good thing, because now I can make a better, more educated choice of how I wish to be published. The sales statistics show a dead heat between books marketed by the traditional publishers and those of the self published. Traditional Publishers do no put out big bucks for advances or to get you advertised, if your new and not a celebrity. You get lumped in the pile with the rest and its up to you to get reviews done and find ways to get the word out about your book. Nothing will happen as far as moeny expenditures go until you sell the magic number. That number could be 1,000 copies, 5,000 copies, or 10,000 copies or more. Until you hit whatever number they assign your book, you’re just like the self published authors. If your self published book, hits the magic number many times the big publishers come looking for you and then you just might get the big bucks contract, where all you do is write and sign a few books. But with the industry in such a state of flux that too may soon go the way of the old method of publishing, where you had no choice, unless you were rich but to wait on the big publishers to anoint you, author.
If you go with a good Print on Demand Publisher they will have the same distribution capabilities and opportunities as the traditional publishers so there is no advantage to having to jump through all of the hoops and be subjected to internal review after internal review and the long wait to be published as a new or fairly new writer. Usually anywhere from a year to eighteen months from the date you sign a contract.
So unless you have a dream of being with a New York Publisher because you've just got to have the prestige of it, self publish. I'll talk more about how to go about that soon but times are changing and the quicker you can get your quality product in front of the people, the readers, the sooner you'll start cashing your royalty checks. So now that you've decide to self publish, you now have to pick a self publishing publisher. We'll check that out next. What I think the do's and don’ts are what you can expect as far as costs go and some ideas to make sure it pays off in sales.
As with anything that you read, anywhere at anytime. Check the facts. Check it out and make sure the writer got it right, especially me.
Chris Keys-Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I posted a couple of blogs! By Chris Keys
I posted a couple of Blogs
I posted a couple of blogs recently and I am astounded by the reaction. The blog postings were controversial and political in nature. But only three people, three, on one site, said anything. Only three!
I have always heard that writers have passion. They have definite opinions. They have something to say on almost everything. They have the spine to stand up and make their opinion known. But not on twenty seven supposed writers sites. There was silence.
I’ve heard statistics about the number of people who write books. Hundreds of thousands of books are written every year and maybe 2 % make any significant sales; with only 10% of that 2% making the best seller list. Now I don’t read every one of them, who could, but I do read a lot. I’m willing to bet all of your money, that every last best seller except for the “how to books” or “technical journals” and then even some of them, are brimming over with opinion. They stink with the authors take on politics and morals.
Every book contains the battle between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and amoral, the political left and right.
Every single best seller has the author’s opinions just leaping off the page and that passion is what makes that book what it is. Would any of the classics be as good as they are if they were written to avoid sharing any opinion, of course not! Gone with the wind would have never had an impact, The Old Man and the Sea wouldn’t have any were made to the book shelf. The book itself is an opinion piece. Even Steven King has lots of political and moral opinions. Just pick one and really read it.
I had expected to receive a great deal more reaction than I did. I expected to see writers come out of the wood work, whether good or bad, stating their opinions. But no, that wasn’t to be. They stayed in neutral territory, which is where their books are. It is hard to write anything from a blog to poem to novel and not interject passion. People do it, I see it every day. They write long boring blogs filled with words and nothing to say.
Develop some passion. Just look at the world around you. The people enjoying success in every field have deep unabashed passion for what they are doing or saying. From the comic to political hack to the TV commenter’s to the writers that are on the best seller list.
I can’t tell you what you have to do to find your passion, but you’d better find it. If you really want to be writer, you really better find some passion. Otherwise people can read cereal boxes and not have to pay for it!
Chris Keys-Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!ChrisKeys2010@
P.S. If you’re a shamed of your opinion or just think it’s popular and you don’t want to offend anyone or let anyone to know you hold it; then you’re probably of the wrong opinion and you know what is right, so change your opinion. A man who won’t stand for his principles, stands for nothing!
I posted a couple of blogs recently and I am astounded by the reaction. The blog postings were controversial and political in nature. But only three people, three, on one site, said anything. Only three!
I have always heard that writers have passion. They have definite opinions. They have something to say on almost everything. They have the spine to stand up and make their opinion known. But not on twenty seven supposed writers sites. There was silence.
I’ve heard statistics about the number of people who write books. Hundreds of thousands of books are written every year and maybe 2 % make any significant sales; with only 10% of that 2% making the best seller list. Now I don’t read every one of them, who could, but I do read a lot. I’m willing to bet all of your money, that every last best seller except for the “how to books” or “technical journals” and then even some of them, are brimming over with opinion. They stink with the authors take on politics and morals.
Every book contains the battle between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and amoral, the political left and right.
Every single best seller has the author’s opinions just leaping off the page and that passion is what makes that book what it is. Would any of the classics be as good as they are if they were written to avoid sharing any opinion, of course not! Gone with the wind would have never had an impact, The Old Man and the Sea wouldn’t have any were made to the book shelf. The book itself is an opinion piece. Even Steven King has lots of political and moral opinions. Just pick one and really read it.
I had expected to receive a great deal more reaction than I did. I expected to see writers come out of the wood work, whether good or bad, stating their opinions. But no, that wasn’t to be. They stayed in neutral territory, which is where their books are. It is hard to write anything from a blog to poem to novel and not interject passion. People do it, I see it every day. They write long boring blogs filled with words and nothing to say.
Develop some passion. Just look at the world around you. The people enjoying success in every field have deep unabashed passion for what they are doing or saying. From the comic to political hack to the TV commenter’s to the writers that are on the best seller list.
I can’t tell you what you have to do to find your passion, but you’d better find it. If you really want to be writer, you really better find some passion. Otherwise people can read cereal boxes and not have to pay for it!
Chris Keys-Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!ChrisKeys2010@
P.S. If you’re a shamed of your opinion or just think it’s popular and you don’t want to offend anyone or let anyone to know you hold it; then you’re probably of the wrong opinion and you know what is right, so change your opinion. A man who won’t stand for his principles, stands for nothing!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Constitution? What Constitution?
So our constitution states we are all entitled to the same health care plan the congress has made for itself. Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!
enjoy
FINALLY SOME ONE ASKED HIM THE QUESTION!
ON "ABC-TV" Monday October 12, 2009
DURING THE "NETWORK SPECIAL ON HEALTH CARE".... OBAMA WAS ASKED:
"MR PRESIDENT WILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GIVE UP YOUR CURRENT HEALTH CARE PROGRAM
AND JOIN THE NEW 'UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM' THAT THE REST OF US WILL BE ON ????"
THERE WAS A STONEY SILENCE AS OBAMA IGNORED THE QUESTION AND CHOSE NOT TO ANSWER IT !!!
IN ADDITION, A NUMBER OF SENATORS WERE ASKED THE SAME QUESTION AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS."WE WILL THINK ABOUT IT."
AND THEY DID. IT WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY ON THE NEWS THAT THE "KENNEDY HEALTH CARE BILL" WAS WRITTEN INTO THE NEW HEALTH CARE REFORM INITIATIVE ENSURING THAT THAT CONGRESS WILL BE 100% EXEMPT !
SO, THIS GREAT NEW HEALTH CARE PLAN THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU AND I... IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR OBAMA, HIS FAMILY OR CONGRESS...??
WE (THE AMERICAN PUBLIC) NEED TO STOP THIS PROPOSED DEBACLE ASAP !!!! THIS IS TOTALLY WRONG !!!!!
PERSONALLY, I CAN ONLY ACCEPT A UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL THAT EXTENDS TO EVERYONE... NOT JUST US LOWLY CITIZENS... WHILE THE WASHINGTON "ELITE" KEEP RIGHT ON WITH THEIR GOLD-PLATED HEALTH CARE COVERAGES.
If you don't pass this around, may you enjoy his Plan!
*************************************************************************************************************************
WHAT???
The Republic has a CONSTITUTION???
Amendment 28
Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States .
Imagine what would happen if everybody passed this around?
from Chris Keys wake up before its too late!
enjoy
FINALLY SOME ONE ASKED HIM THE QUESTION!
ON "ABC-TV" Monday October 12, 2009
DURING THE "NETWORK SPECIAL ON HEALTH CARE".... OBAMA WAS ASKED:
"MR PRESIDENT WILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GIVE UP YOUR CURRENT HEALTH CARE PROGRAM
AND JOIN THE NEW 'UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM' THAT THE REST OF US WILL BE ON ????"
THERE WAS A STONEY SILENCE AS OBAMA IGNORED THE QUESTION AND CHOSE NOT TO ANSWER IT !!!
IN ADDITION, A NUMBER OF SENATORS WERE ASKED THE SAME QUESTION AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS."WE WILL THINK ABOUT IT."
AND THEY DID. IT WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY ON THE NEWS THAT THE "KENNEDY HEALTH CARE BILL" WAS WRITTEN INTO THE NEW HEALTH CARE REFORM INITIATIVE ENSURING THAT THAT CONGRESS WILL BE 100% EXEMPT !
SO, THIS GREAT NEW HEALTH CARE PLAN THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU AND I... IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR OBAMA, HIS FAMILY OR CONGRESS...??
WE (THE AMERICAN PUBLIC) NEED TO STOP THIS PROPOSED DEBACLE ASAP !!!! THIS IS TOTALLY WRONG !!!!!
PERSONALLY, I CAN ONLY ACCEPT A UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL THAT EXTENDS TO EVERYONE... NOT JUST US LOWLY CITIZENS... WHILE THE WASHINGTON "ELITE" KEEP RIGHT ON WITH THEIR GOLD-PLATED HEALTH CARE COVERAGES.
If you don't pass this around, may you enjoy his Plan!
*************************************************************************************************************************
WHAT???
The Republic has a CONSTITUTION???
Amendment 28
Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States .
Imagine what would happen if everybody passed this around?
from Chris Keys wake up before its too late!
Using your blog to market your book 102 by Chris Keys author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Using your blog to sell books 102 by Chris Keys
Author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Well, I was overwhelmed by the response to the last training piece, thanks sis for reading it, so I’m writing another one. Now, I want to assure each one of you, that this piece was as thoroughly researched and investigated, as the last of the cuff remarks, I passed off as being somewhat authoritative and backed by years of on going and thorough investigation.
Having completed the exhaustive mental exercise of contemplating for several seconds and a moment in time, I’m ready to pass along my exalted and exhausted wisdom from nearly ninety days of doing it myself, with over twenty five years of real world business networking. It’s the same, only different!
In Blogging 101, you learned to keep the name of your book like mine, since I don’t know yours, Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Right out front where everyone can see it and make sure, you spell it right when you post.
In Blogging 102, I’m going to explain the value of having an actual picture of yourself attached to any internet site you’re involved in, plus the value of providing your readers with inspirational and motivational pros that will keep them coming back for more.
Then we’ll go into partial detail about how your page should be set up and the deep pyshologocial under pinning’s of the reasons why. Or at least I’ll mention that it should be set a certain way because we read from left to right.
Then we’ll go into color as an attractant or repellant. And why having deep dark colors, like deep brown or black and maybe even deep blue are colors you may want to avoid on your site and how having a similar site compared to others is also a completely bad idea.
Ok, why do you need a picture? Well think about for a minute I’ve got time… Ok that’s enough you’re a writer and thinking to much about non-writing issues is beneath you.
SO, a picture makes you look professional. Take my picture. Would you trust that guy with watching your family for the weekend? I doubt it. That guy you’d be hard press to trust him to wash your car, but it is the effect I was looking for, relaxed and in control. He is own man, the kind of guy doesn’t need the establishment. A rebel filled with angst and maybe a bit bored. Either that or he’s inebriated. I don’t remember much about that day, other than it was festival of some sort.
Anyway, enough about the author of “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” We’re here to talk about you. Unless you specifically want to risk, that no one takes you serious and thus may not read your writings, try to have professional picture to post of yourself. You can use it for your book cover as well, so it’s worth it. It shows the prospective agents and publishers that you take your writing career seriously and that they are investing in someone who is going pay off. It also tells the reader your not some crazy serial killer with access to a computer. You look normal, which mean your writing will be pretty much what they expect for your genre. I write action adventure so I look like I’m ready to hangout where the adventure is or at least fake it well (If you buy this have I got some Florida waterfront for you. It was the only picture I could get out of my computer. I’ll be changing it as quickly as I can.) So remember, you need a serious and professional type picture. It’s an image thing!
I read a blog the other day that explained that we read from the left to the right and so we should put the important part of our blog on the left and make the field the biggest field on then page. The reader’s eye is drawn to that spot the moment they look to check out your site and you hardly want to have them see another guy’s book cover because of a link you’ve created and have the reader jump to their site. You want them to stay on your page until they buy, hopefully. To that end, you need to make sure your name and the name of your book, like mine for example, “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” Are at the top of the page, starting on the left hand side; then you want your book info, title again, excerpt(s) and an ever changing running commentary about something interesting, then, you want your reviews underneath on the middle left hand side and your ordering info under that. On the left side is where you show case your writing style with innovative pieces that give the reader pause, not the “What am I doing here?” type but the, “Oh that’s cool or that’s a good point.” All this stuff, I’m telling you, will be wasted if you post nothing but blogs about your cats or dogs or your kids or celebrity rehashes; without making some kind of point, the reader can relate too. Ok you’ve got the left side handed so, shove all of your links to the far right under your picture and small blurb about you.
If you have some ads you’re running from Google push down your picture and place the ads there, right under the banner because that is where they will get seen the most, other than the left hand side, which translates into more advertising income. Another blog, another time, just remember, they can make you money so they go above, the friends links and a picture of you. That’s a professionally done photograph of course, making you look, marvelous! I know, some prefab sites won’t let you move them around much, but do what you can with what you have. “Successful people are the ones that make the best of what they have.” Good quote!
If you go to, Tony Eldridge/The Sampson Effect click on his advertising link and you can read more blogs about page setup. The one other thing I see people doing that can cause you lost sales is that they fail to include excerpts. An excerpt is designed to catch the reader’s attention and entice them to want to read the rest of the book. Stop by my page and read the excerpts I have there. Then honestly tell me, you’re not curious about what happening next in the book. I pass them out to anyone who’ll take them, book clubs, bank tellers, tax preparers, nurses, doctors, friends of friends, store clerks I know and I even give them away at church. But that’s not blogging so we’ll save for a blog about gorilla marketing. When you set up your site, why not play the odds, instead of bucking them.
You have website or a webpage and its bright yellow and orange; which is really bright and cheery and hard on people’s eyes. When I ran for office, yes I am a reformed politician, I learned from a professor at the University of Detroit, just how important the colors that we choose, can make or break an advertising campaign. Your website or page or blog are advertising campaigns, in case you didn’t realize it. Treat it differently at your own peril.
Some colors like greens, blues, white and soft pinks, make people feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe. Reds, yellows oranges, bright pink make them feel on edge; black, browns, dark reds, dark blue, dark green (not forest green, darker) cause people to feel apprehensive. Beige, gray, blue grey, taupe makes people feel melancholy. Purple, deep blue, magenta, burgundy make people feel inferior. They are the royal colors. That’s about all I remember from my quick course on using colors to make a statement in your advertising. I took that class, actually it was lunch at a trendy downtown Detroit eatery and it was worth every penny.
I chose the colors white and blue and promptly had my flyers, campaign signs handouts, bumper stickers and door hangers all with a blue background and white lettering. My main competitor chose red and yellow with bold, black lettering. When you looked at his sign for a couple of seconds you started to feel aggressive. I over heard him, talking at some township meeting, saying that he chose those colors because people could see the signs from a long way off. The guy was an athletic coach and football referee when he wasn’t working at trying to get elected or working as the parks and recreation, supervisor. He really liked bright colors. He was college educated, with a master’s degree in recreational science. Apparently, you need to be a scientist to enjoy recreation today. You may have noticed that there aren’t too many really bright colored uniforms in any pro sports, why? Because you don’t want your uniform making the other guy anymore aggressive. You don’t want him feeling than he already is, so they chose more subdued colors. Look the number of winning franchises there are who have bold bright colors. I think you got it!
The third person in the race used purple, white and I believe burgundy. He was the former village manager who had several degrees in city management. He also had been caught having an affair with his secretary, while in the office in front of a little old lady who needed 911 afterwards. He’d said things like he deserved the job because he was so educated and he was smarter than, me or the Parks and Rec Director. The colors matched his attitude. They arrogant and standoffish, and so was he. The colors sealed his fate.
Oh, you’re wondering what degree I have? Well, I have a degree in hard knocks from Rock and Hard Place University. College for me was supposed to be football practice all week and a game in Saturday, with educational game films on Sundays at the local bar. After my football career was canceled, college proved to be the hardest and longest two hours of my life. At the time getting an education, was just something I had to do, if I wanted to play football. High school had been the same way. I guess you could, say I was the typical joke or I mean “Jock”. And like Mark Twain said, “I have never let my schooling, stand in the way of my education!” Yeah, that pretty much sums up my academic life.
Anyway back to our discussion. I had some other advantages over the other two candidates but this isn’t the place to discuss them, but I did win the election. Did the colors make a big difference, I’m not to sure; I didn’t keep any tracking numbers on them. The scandals, the other two were involved in probably went a long way to helping me win, but people did say publicly how tacky the purple signs were and how the yellow looked ugly. I won with sixty-three percent of the vote. The thirty seven percent left was split between the other two candidates, but was a landside as they say. The uneducated, right, and the less than qualified, probably right, and the guy that made everyone feel alright, definitely right, won in a landslide.
The professor claimed the credit for having taught me well. I think he gave good advice. So no dark colors unless you write horror and then be sure you using white lettering. No purple colors unless you write only about nobility or romance novels maybe. And No super bright colors unless you’re writing persona is that of a clown and you write children’s books. Pick colors that are easy on the eyes, not too vivid and give the reader, some back of the mind comfort, subliminal comfort.
If they leave your site feeling comfortable and safe, they’ll view your book, like mine “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” as a comfortable and safe reading choice. I need to take my own advice here and change my page colors as well. Their gray, white and red I think.
Ok well, I think I‘ve done enough damage here today, and when you least expect it I’ll pop off another totally worthless bit of writing fluff that may or may not be very effectual in your life. Just remember that you want a professional quality photo, no weird pictures, no art work, no kids, no wife’s or husband’s, no pets and no pictures of celebrities. Put your picture up there and make it a good one.
Organize your webpage, so it directs the customer to everything about you, first, then, the ads and links. The biggest section to the far left for your writing examples; links and ads to the far right and in a space half the size or less than your space. They, the experts, seem to recommend 2/3 to the left and 1/3 to the right. Be sure to mention your own website if you have one and be sure to ask the reader to “BUY” your book and give clear and easy instructions to do it. Then pick your site colors to fit in. use highlights to set you apart from the other people. You don’t want people finding it hard to read your page because of color bleeds or colors over powering other colors or the light reflecting too much off them. People are just going to move on if they’re uncomfortable in anyway and then you’ve lost a sale. Bad author, bad business person! Yes being an author, is being in business. It can make you rich and if you’re going to make living do it, then get serious and treat it like a business. That is another blog for another day.
My last thought about the blogging is simple one. Don’t spend so much time blogging that you neglect to write the important stuff, like that new book or series of poems or whatever. Blogging, unless your trying to make living doing so, is strictly for marketing and you need to focus on the dream and not the minutiae. Blogging can help but it cannot sell a book not written or a book written poorly.
Chris Keys “Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!2010@ author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Catch him on blogspot at writerchriskeys@ Blogspot.com
Author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Well, I was overwhelmed by the response to the last training piece, thanks sis for reading it, so I’m writing another one. Now, I want to assure each one of you, that this piece was as thoroughly researched and investigated, as the last of the cuff remarks, I passed off as being somewhat authoritative and backed by years of on going and thorough investigation.
Having completed the exhaustive mental exercise of contemplating for several seconds and a moment in time, I’m ready to pass along my exalted and exhausted wisdom from nearly ninety days of doing it myself, with over twenty five years of real world business networking. It’s the same, only different!
In Blogging 101, you learned to keep the name of your book like mine, since I don’t know yours, Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Right out front where everyone can see it and make sure, you spell it right when you post.
In Blogging 102, I’m going to explain the value of having an actual picture of yourself attached to any internet site you’re involved in, plus the value of providing your readers with inspirational and motivational pros that will keep them coming back for more.
Then we’ll go into partial detail about how your page should be set up and the deep pyshologocial under pinning’s of the reasons why. Or at least I’ll mention that it should be set a certain way because we read from left to right.
Then we’ll go into color as an attractant or repellant. And why having deep dark colors, like deep brown or black and maybe even deep blue are colors you may want to avoid on your site and how having a similar site compared to others is also a completely bad idea.
Ok, why do you need a picture? Well think about for a minute I’ve got time… Ok that’s enough you’re a writer and thinking to much about non-writing issues is beneath you.
SO, a picture makes you look professional. Take my picture. Would you trust that guy with watching your family for the weekend? I doubt it. That guy you’d be hard press to trust him to wash your car, but it is the effect I was looking for, relaxed and in control. He is own man, the kind of guy doesn’t need the establishment. A rebel filled with angst and maybe a bit bored. Either that or he’s inebriated. I don’t remember much about that day, other than it was festival of some sort.
Anyway, enough about the author of “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” We’re here to talk about you. Unless you specifically want to risk, that no one takes you serious and thus may not read your writings, try to have professional picture to post of yourself. You can use it for your book cover as well, so it’s worth it. It shows the prospective agents and publishers that you take your writing career seriously and that they are investing in someone who is going pay off. It also tells the reader your not some crazy serial killer with access to a computer. You look normal, which mean your writing will be pretty much what they expect for your genre. I write action adventure so I look like I’m ready to hangout where the adventure is or at least fake it well (If you buy this have I got some Florida waterfront for you. It was the only picture I could get out of my computer. I’ll be changing it as quickly as I can.) So remember, you need a serious and professional type picture. It’s an image thing!
I read a blog the other day that explained that we read from the left to the right and so we should put the important part of our blog on the left and make the field the biggest field on then page. The reader’s eye is drawn to that spot the moment they look to check out your site and you hardly want to have them see another guy’s book cover because of a link you’ve created and have the reader jump to their site. You want them to stay on your page until they buy, hopefully. To that end, you need to make sure your name and the name of your book, like mine for example, “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” Are at the top of the page, starting on the left hand side; then you want your book info, title again, excerpt(s) and an ever changing running commentary about something interesting, then, you want your reviews underneath on the middle left hand side and your ordering info under that. On the left side is where you show case your writing style with innovative pieces that give the reader pause, not the “What am I doing here?” type but the, “Oh that’s cool or that’s a good point.” All this stuff, I’m telling you, will be wasted if you post nothing but blogs about your cats or dogs or your kids or celebrity rehashes; without making some kind of point, the reader can relate too. Ok you’ve got the left side handed so, shove all of your links to the far right under your picture and small blurb about you.
If you have some ads you’re running from Google push down your picture and place the ads there, right under the banner because that is where they will get seen the most, other than the left hand side, which translates into more advertising income. Another blog, another time, just remember, they can make you money so they go above, the friends links and a picture of you. That’s a professionally done photograph of course, making you look, marvelous! I know, some prefab sites won’t let you move them around much, but do what you can with what you have. “Successful people are the ones that make the best of what they have.” Good quote!
If you go to, Tony Eldridge/The Sampson Effect click on his advertising link and you can read more blogs about page setup. The one other thing I see people doing that can cause you lost sales is that they fail to include excerpts. An excerpt is designed to catch the reader’s attention and entice them to want to read the rest of the book. Stop by my page and read the excerpts I have there. Then honestly tell me, you’re not curious about what happening next in the book. I pass them out to anyone who’ll take them, book clubs, bank tellers, tax preparers, nurses, doctors, friends of friends, store clerks I know and I even give them away at church. But that’s not blogging so we’ll save for a blog about gorilla marketing. When you set up your site, why not play the odds, instead of bucking them.
You have website or a webpage and its bright yellow and orange; which is really bright and cheery and hard on people’s eyes. When I ran for office, yes I am a reformed politician, I learned from a professor at the University of Detroit, just how important the colors that we choose, can make or break an advertising campaign. Your website or page or blog are advertising campaigns, in case you didn’t realize it. Treat it differently at your own peril.
Some colors like greens, blues, white and soft pinks, make people feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe. Reds, yellows oranges, bright pink make them feel on edge; black, browns, dark reds, dark blue, dark green (not forest green, darker) cause people to feel apprehensive. Beige, gray, blue grey, taupe makes people feel melancholy. Purple, deep blue, magenta, burgundy make people feel inferior. They are the royal colors. That’s about all I remember from my quick course on using colors to make a statement in your advertising. I took that class, actually it was lunch at a trendy downtown Detroit eatery and it was worth every penny.
I chose the colors white and blue and promptly had my flyers, campaign signs handouts, bumper stickers and door hangers all with a blue background and white lettering. My main competitor chose red and yellow with bold, black lettering. When you looked at his sign for a couple of seconds you started to feel aggressive. I over heard him, talking at some township meeting, saying that he chose those colors because people could see the signs from a long way off. The guy was an athletic coach and football referee when he wasn’t working at trying to get elected or working as the parks and recreation, supervisor. He really liked bright colors. He was college educated, with a master’s degree in recreational science. Apparently, you need to be a scientist to enjoy recreation today. You may have noticed that there aren’t too many really bright colored uniforms in any pro sports, why? Because you don’t want your uniform making the other guy anymore aggressive. You don’t want him feeling than he already is, so they chose more subdued colors. Look the number of winning franchises there are who have bold bright colors. I think you got it!
The third person in the race used purple, white and I believe burgundy. He was the former village manager who had several degrees in city management. He also had been caught having an affair with his secretary, while in the office in front of a little old lady who needed 911 afterwards. He’d said things like he deserved the job because he was so educated and he was smarter than, me or the Parks and Rec Director. The colors matched his attitude. They arrogant and standoffish, and so was he. The colors sealed his fate.
Oh, you’re wondering what degree I have? Well, I have a degree in hard knocks from Rock and Hard Place University. College for me was supposed to be football practice all week and a game in Saturday, with educational game films on Sundays at the local bar. After my football career was canceled, college proved to be the hardest and longest two hours of my life. At the time getting an education, was just something I had to do, if I wanted to play football. High school had been the same way. I guess you could, say I was the typical joke or I mean “Jock”. And like Mark Twain said, “I have never let my schooling, stand in the way of my education!” Yeah, that pretty much sums up my academic life.
Anyway back to our discussion. I had some other advantages over the other two candidates but this isn’t the place to discuss them, but I did win the election. Did the colors make a big difference, I’m not to sure; I didn’t keep any tracking numbers on them. The scandals, the other two were involved in probably went a long way to helping me win, but people did say publicly how tacky the purple signs were and how the yellow looked ugly. I won with sixty-three percent of the vote. The thirty seven percent left was split between the other two candidates, but was a landside as they say. The uneducated, right, and the less than qualified, probably right, and the guy that made everyone feel alright, definitely right, won in a landslide.
The professor claimed the credit for having taught me well. I think he gave good advice. So no dark colors unless you write horror and then be sure you using white lettering. No purple colors unless you write only about nobility or romance novels maybe. And No super bright colors unless you’re writing persona is that of a clown and you write children’s books. Pick colors that are easy on the eyes, not too vivid and give the reader, some back of the mind comfort, subliminal comfort.
If they leave your site feeling comfortable and safe, they’ll view your book, like mine “Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!” as a comfortable and safe reading choice. I need to take my own advice here and change my page colors as well. Their gray, white and red I think.
Ok well, I think I‘ve done enough damage here today, and when you least expect it I’ll pop off another totally worthless bit of writing fluff that may or may not be very effectual in your life. Just remember that you want a professional quality photo, no weird pictures, no art work, no kids, no wife’s or husband’s, no pets and no pictures of celebrities. Put your picture up there and make it a good one.
Organize your webpage, so it directs the customer to everything about you, first, then, the ads and links. The biggest section to the far left for your writing examples; links and ads to the far right and in a space half the size or less than your space. They, the experts, seem to recommend 2/3 to the left and 1/3 to the right. Be sure to mention your own website if you have one and be sure to ask the reader to “BUY” your book and give clear and easy instructions to do it. Then pick your site colors to fit in. use highlights to set you apart from the other people. You don’t want people finding it hard to read your page because of color bleeds or colors over powering other colors or the light reflecting too much off them. People are just going to move on if they’re uncomfortable in anyway and then you’ve lost a sale. Bad author, bad business person! Yes being an author, is being in business. It can make you rich and if you’re going to make living do it, then get serious and treat it like a business. That is another blog for another day.
My last thought about the blogging is simple one. Don’t spend so much time blogging that you neglect to write the important stuff, like that new book or series of poems or whatever. Blogging, unless your trying to make living doing so, is strictly for marketing and you need to focus on the dream and not the minutiae. Blogging can help but it cannot sell a book not written or a book written poorly.
Chris Keys “Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams!2010@ author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Catch him on blogspot at writerchriskeys@ Blogspot.com
Sunday, March 21, 2010
SOUNDS LIKE EDGAR ALLEN POE???? by Chris Keys
Sounds like Edgar Allen Poe??? by Chris Keys author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Another writer said that this sounded like Edgar Allen Poe, Do you?
I heard the beating of his fingers on the tell tale keys, he's blogging again as easy as he pleases. I crept up close to have just a peek, when suddenly he turns and begins to speak.
"Watch where you’re stepping the boards are quite loose and please duck your head, so it does not accidentally slip into the noose. I tried to warn the last customer too. But he wouldn’t listen or take any off my clues. So he crept up and looked over my shoulder. His move was quite rash and couldn't have been bolder. But I stood my ground, for these words I write in jest; for I am such private man I had cleaved open his chest. I buried him there, right under the floor and now I hear the sound of hearts beating and the damn bird keeps saying never more! Never more!
Well it may not be as good as old Edgar wrote, but it's an example of the freedom you have as a writer. You can explore the depths of your soul or just play around the edges. Writing opens up the imagination to a whole host of possibilities and only you limit where it can take you! So I'll say it again, Go write something, it doesn't matter what, even if it's grocery list, but write it with passion and enthusiasm. Chris Keys- "Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams! Write your own Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Another writer said that this sounded like Edgar Allen Poe, Do you?
I heard the beating of his fingers on the tell tale keys, he's blogging again as easy as he pleases. I crept up close to have just a peek, when suddenly he turns and begins to speak.
"Watch where you’re stepping the boards are quite loose and please duck your head, so it does not accidentally slip into the noose. I tried to warn the last customer too. But he wouldn’t listen or take any off my clues. So he crept up and looked over my shoulder. His move was quite rash and couldn't have been bolder. But I stood my ground, for these words I write in jest; for I am such private man I had cleaved open his chest. I buried him there, right under the floor and now I hear the sound of hearts beating and the damn bird keeps saying never more! Never more!
Well it may not be as good as old Edgar wrote, but it's an example of the freedom you have as a writer. You can explore the depths of your soul or just play around the edges. Writing opens up the imagination to a whole host of possibilities and only you limit where it can take you! So I'll say it again, Go write something, it doesn't matter what, even if it's grocery list, but write it with passion and enthusiasm. Chris Keys- "Write what you know, write it with passion-set the world on fire with your dreams! Write your own Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
EDIT LAMENT! by Chris Keys author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
Edit Lament by Chris Keys
I have no job
I have no life
I live for my book
I may lose my wife
I stay up all night thinking words
I struggle all day
Sleeping with crowing birds
I write and rewrite
Each time
I’m filled with delight
Each time
I’m filled with dread
I’m beginning to believe
I’ll finish a day after I’m dead.
Chris Keys2010
author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
I have no job
I have no life
I live for my book
I may lose my wife
I stay up all night thinking words
I struggle all day
Sleeping with crowing birds
I write and rewrite
Each time
I’m filled with delight
Each time
I’m filled with dread
I’m beginning to believe
I’ll finish a day after I’m dead.
Chris Keys2010
author of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
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