E-Book Formatting and Conversion Services

Jun20

I am now offering e-book formatting and conversion services. The process can be a time-consuming hassle for many people, but I actually enjoy doing it.

Why use a formatting service?

“Not all indie authors realize that e-book conversion (offered by most major distributors) is not the same as e-book formatting. Conversion just puts your Word file in the blender. Formatting creates a precise, clean, and beautiful e-book—a MUST for anyone wanting to put out a professional-looking product.”
~Alina Sayre, award-winning author of The Voyages of the Legend series

E-book formatting and conversion prices*:

10-20k — $20-$30
20-30k — $30-$40
30-40k — $40-$50
40-60k — $50-$70
60-80k — $70-$90
80-100k — $90-$110
100k+ — $110+

*Based on standard number of chapters. For greater number of chapters spanning shorter word counts (ex. poetry books, short stories collection) a separate price quote will be required.

What you get:

An epub file specifically for upload to Amazon Kindle
A generic epub file for other online retailers
Clickable Table of Contents included

For epub files customized for individual retailers (ex. with book links) – additional $5-$20 per file, depending on number of links

For stylistic additions (special caps, color), images, etc. – additional $15

What I need from you:

MS Word file of manuscript with all text wanted in the e-book, from front matter (copyright information, dedication, acknowledgments, etc) to back matter (author bio, links, etc.)
No page numbers, headers or footers
A jpeg file of your book cover
If adding images inside book, original jpeg files will also be needed
If desired, jpeg of author photo (no extra charge)

Testimonials:

“Angela has formatted all three of my middle-grade fantasy e-books. Her professionalism, eye for detail, and integrity make her my first choice every time. I’ve thrown text, images, drop caps, and links her way, and she’s seamlessly incorporated them all. I can now confidently offer beautiful, consistent e-books that match my print books in quality and easily compete with their traditionally published counterparts. Why waste your time and energy wrangling with HTML code and formatting software? Angela is affordable, reliable, stress-free, and on time, every time. With my e-books in her capable hands, I have more time to focus on doing what I love–writing and promoting my books.”
~Alina Sayre, award-winning author of The Voyages of the Legend series

Writers, Our Families, and Support Systems

Jun7

Kristen Lamb wrote a blog post yesterday about how being a career writer is serious work, and it takes a lot of training, organization, and multitasking. To read the full pep talk, click here: “Training to Be a Career Author.”

Her post got me thinking, not about writers, but about those in our lives who depend on us, whether it’s friends, family, or those we provide for. I’m blessed to have a very supportive mom. She truly believes I can get published and supports me in my pursuit of my dream.

That said, she also depends on me. I will need to take over the bulk of the responsibility for supporting us–something I am completely willing to do! But as I’ve come to realize in the past few weeks, being a career writer involves so much more than writing. Kristen’s post goes into more detail about what is required of us: research, marketing, social media, learning the business side, not to mention continuing to write those novel-length works! And that’s just a few things that will make up the schedule of a career writer. For those of us still working towards that, we probably also have day jobs to balance, in addition to family and friends.

I hope that every one of you writers has friends and family that support you in your pursuit. But people can be supportive and still reach their limits. I imagine it might be hard for some of them to understand why we have to do all this work. Maybe they support our writing, but wonder why we “have to” blog or Tweet. Maybe they have the same idea about publishing we did before we learned the truth, that writing a book is all you need.

I don’t have any wisdom to offer in this regard, as it hasn’t been a major source of conflict in my relationships yet. Ideally, we should be able to say that if we multitask properly, no one will feel neglected. Well, feelings and reality hardly ever align. I’m still working out my own balance in this new world, and feeling a little guilty about it, even though I know it will help my career in the long run.

So let me ask you, does your family, spouse, partner ever feel neglected or frustrated by the time you spend on these “other” writer activities? How do you deal with it? Do you try for an equalized schedule to multitask, or do you allow that schedule to be fluid according to who needs you more at any given time? Do your loved ones want to support you, but sometimes just don’t understand all you’re trying to accomplish?

The importance of feedback–and how you take it

May27

Writing has been called a solitary pursuit, and while this is mostly true, every writer needs a support system of critique and feedback. Moms are usually great at support, but not so much on objective comments. This is where a writing group comes in. Not only do you get objective feedback (as objective as anyone can be, because let’s face it, writing and reading is a subjective business), but you also get a variety of perspectives. Everyone interprets things differently based on their schema, the filter with which they see the world that is formed by their background and experiences. It’s good to know beforehand how a reader might interpret something. Then you as the writer can decide if you are comfortable with that interpretation, or if something needs to be changed to avoid misconceptions.

It’s also great to get input from people who’ve had different experiences. As writers, we write what we know, but let’s face it, sometimes we have to use our imagination and a little research to go outside our realm of expertise. We want the details right, don’t we? I gave a character bruised ribs, and a person in my writer’s group said, “Hey, I’ve had bruised ribs. Here’s what it’s really like…”

Not all feedback is created equal. As the writer, you have to take it or leave it, though you should always listen to it first. We use the word “objective” to describe the ideal kind of critique, but there really is no such thing. Each reader, however well-read or accomplished in writing, still has their own tastes in what they like to see. Sometimes a writer and reader click like brain twins. Sometimes some serious deliberation is needed. Sometimes we feel like the feedback is coming out of the blue and misses the mark. That’s okay. It’s all part of the process.

It’s also important for a writer to know his or her tendencies when accepting feedback. Critique should be a discussion, not be perceived as a personal attack. It might even help to figure out how you best receive it. Maybe you need a sandwich delivery: positive/needs improvement/positive. Maybe you’d like alternative suggestions, or just have something pointed out and you figure it out later yourself.

Yeah, the writing itself is a solitary activity, but writers themselves are not alone. There’s a huge community out there waiting to embrace each other. If you don’t already know about the #MyWANA hastag on Twitter, go to Kristen Lamb’s blog and read about it. http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/join-the-love-revolution-mywana/ #MyWANA means We Are Not Alone (writers).

Happy writing and critiquing,

~Dreaming wide awake