101 Best Websites for Writers from Writer’s Digest for 2011

We did it again! I just received an e-mail from Writer’s Digest (our heroes) telling me A Book Inside Blog is one of the top 101 sites for writers on the Internet for 2011. I’m so excited and appreciative to all of you who nominated us.

The first year we won this honor, I had sent out a million requests asking folks to nominate us for this award (desperate woman!). However, this time, I did nothing. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was “that” time again. So I’m especially tickled about this (and grateful).

So here it is! The symbol that addresses to the world “we are a winner!”
Thank you everybody!

Possibly the Best Book Marketing Tool on the Web!

I always love to share my greatest Internet finds with you. I think I may have found exactly that—the best! While visiting my friends Blog, In His Name, I saw a really cool widget you can put on your site.

Everyone likes to read excerpts from your book before they buy. Amazon and many of the other book sale outlets have “look inside” features which are wonderful, but first you need to get your site visitors to click on to that sales Website. Sometimes we have trouble “hooking” the potential buyer. Try putting this new and “free” widget right on your Website or Blog home page to gain interest in your book.

It takes about 15 minutes to set up and you will need to have your book available in PDF as well as having a quality book cover image to upload. Happy sales!
Here is mine:

The Poll is Finished!

Here’s what we’ve learned from the results:

*Most people choose to write in order to express their creativity or document a personal story. To my surprise, most don’t seem to care whether or not they become famous or get rich from their book. So why is it I hear so often, “Maybe I can be the next Rowling or King?” LOL!

*Even with so much competition in the publishing industry, the majority of authors seem to still be holding out for the big traditional publishing contract. They are also not succumbing to the “e-book is easier” theory and desire to see a physical copy of their book in hand; can’t say I blame them.

*More than half of all books are now sold online. Many of even the bigger named brick and mortar book stores have called it quits due to the increasing volume of online sales. Yet our poll revealed that most writers still plan to sell in traditional retail book stores. Will they be missing the market?

On a more personal note…in 2005, while preparing my first book for release, I researched the market to learn where my audience would be making their purchase. At that time, the statistics showed that only twenty percent of my sales would be over the Internet. Wow! What an increase over just five years!

*Most writers seem to rely on the guidance of “writer help books” to get them through the process of writing and publishing their work. Personally, I think this is smart, and not because I am the author of such a book, but because I spent countless hours (more like years!) myself researching the process never knowing such books were available to me.

*Finally, this poll showed that even though on the average, there was little or no profit in becoming a published author, the authors who took the poll stated overwhelmingly they were happy with the outcome and recommended unpublished writers follow in their footsteps.

My initial intent of this poll was basically to fill space on the Blog while I was on vacation. But to my surprise, it was a very interesting “quiz” with some surprising outcomes. It inspires me to continue the Blog indefinitely. I think new authors really do want and need the guidance offered here (when I’m not on vacation!).

Thank you to all who participated! You comments are always welcome.

A Child Dreams of Authorship

Mrs. Palacio is 5th grade teacher in California; she is also my sister. She asked me to come to her school and talk to her students about writing a book. Surprisingly, many of her kids desire to be authors; some are already really good writers!

Anyhoo, after I returned home to Oregon, I received by snail mail some notes the kids had written after I left. I want to share them with you to show how admired and respected you are as published authors; people who were able to fulfill a dream. But more so, because they’re just really cute! I’ve desperately tried to re-write them as they are written, but of course they lose a tad bit of their authenticity when typed out and spell check keeps wanting to correct where I don’t want to!

Now, just so you know, the “authors” of these letters may be reading this Blog, so feel free to address a comment to any or all of the kids.

The Day Seeing Carol! Written by Kaja

Today we had a guest coming So I was expecting a guest, but not a superstar. I’m just kiting but she is a Author and a Writer! A super writer! She was nice to very nice she even gave us autograph. Her autograph was pretty. She said Best wishes! I like that part of the day. It was cool because I liked her. Your sister is nice that you. Thank you Ms. Palacio. Thank you Ms. Carol.

Nervous & scared, unsigned

Oh, Mrs. Palacio I have so much to tell you so…Ahhhhh, I can’t believe I saw a real author, you must be so lucky. Well, anyways, I learned that reading can be fun. And if you don’t have confidence in yourself then you will not might to get what you didn’t believe. Thank you for letting us see your sister Carol. I felt so nervous and so excited at the same time. Oh my gosh, I just don’t much have to say, I mean I don’t have much to say. So anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Dear Mrs. Palacio by Maria

Today I learned that making a book is acutly a little easy and being a author is really hard so I think I will love to be a author. Also I learned that Mrs. Carol wrote 6 books and she probally writting another book. Also I learned that Mrs. Carol is a really cool person and she is going to give her autograph to us. Also I learned that her favorite book was how to make a book. Sincerly, Maria

Today I have met an author, unsigned

Today I have met an author. Actually, it was my teacher’s sister. Her name is Ms. Carol. Wow, she is so inspiring! I wish, when I become an author, that i’m like her.

Add comments or notes to the kid’s below in the comment section.

Do Books Outdate?

When you write your first novel or non-fiction work, is there any way to know for sure if the book will become outdated? Do authors even consider the possibility?
Gone With the Wind was released decades ago but remains a favorite and is truly a legend in the literary world. Yet an original and complete set of 1920 Britannia Encyclopedias are virtually worth nothing—why?

A well written fiction book should never outdate; a story is a story. But non-fiction writers beware, or should I say, “be aware.” Although history is history and will no longer change, many informational books suffer due to new science or technology. Even a family history book might be considered outdated once new family members are born into this world.

When and if your book outdates you can re-publish it with the same name as a new edition. Understand that with each new edition or format, you will need a new ISBN (International Standard Book Number). ISBN’s are assigned each time a book changes. If you create a recorded or CD version to sell, you will need a new ISBN. Any changes made to a published book with an original ISBN require a new number. FYI, printing additional copies with no changes at all, does not require a new ISBN.

There are few ways to get past the need for a new ISBN. When I wrote my latest non-fiction book, 100 Ways to Market Your Book for Free (or really cheap), I knew all along the book would outdate, and rapidly. I had to decide if I would be willing to re-write updated versions on a regular basis or come up with another solution—I did just that. I published the book as an e-book without an ISBN. Although this does limit my coverage in the book world, because I work directly with authors, I still get direct exposure through my Websites and Blogs. “My audience” is right here.

As an e-book, I can make changes to the text and update the content anytime the information in the book changes, i.e., Website links, new ideas, recommendations from the books readers. Then I simply re-publish the book with the same name. It’s not the traditional method of book publishing, but sometimes you need to think outside the box and do what works for your publication.

So when you are considering writing a non-fiction book, ask yourself these questions:

*Will the content or information in the book outdate?
*Will I need to re-publish the book with updated content in the future?
*Should I purchase a rack of ISBN’s (10-15) rather than just one?
*What is the most cost-effective and simplest way to produce the book based on the need to update the information?
*Should I make the book into a series (see post below at http://abookinside.blogspot.com/2010/01/are-you-considering-writing-book-series.html)?
Authors, please share your own insight in the comment section below.

Amazon Kindle Version BEWARE! A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story…Fair?

Wow, authors, beware of submitting your title as an Amazon.com Kindle title! I’ve just received a poor review of my book A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story based on guess what? POOR EDITING and a “sample” page! I am shocked to say the least.

Apparently, through the download of my “perfectly edited” book, the text changes radically and the book appears completely juvenile! The “reviewer” downloaded a sample page (which one I don’t know)and wrote a negative review based on that one page and the poor editing as it appeared through Kindle’s version. As most authors know, one poor review such as this can destroy a promising writing career. Authors, don’t let this happen to you. If you have submitted your book for Kindle—get out now and save yourself!

Please let me know if you have had a similar experience as I would like to inform other authors of Kindle associated issues before they unintentionally and permanently sway their writing future.

Also, if you HAVE read my book and DID enjoy and learn from it, PLEASE leave a positive review on Amazon.com for me; it would be much appreciated!

As always, thank you for visiting my Blog!