Quick short, update.
My story is now formatted to view on your kindle, sony reader, etc. Thinks and Things. You can also simply read it online :)
-Crystal
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Writer's Resources Evaluated
Writer's Resources Evaluated
Sidenote: I decided to give away free digital copies of my book, Thinks and Things, just a consideration to take in when viewing some of my stats.
1. smashwords.com
I just recently joined and I've already had some noticeable success with this site. I uploaded my story (easy conversion tool-it converts your book to at least seven different formats. (Although, I need to tweak the formatting of my story so it looks nice on people's electronic reading devices-please hold off on downloading mine for another day so I can tweak the formatting-no tabs, huh?).
If you're accepted into their premium catalog http://www.smashwords.com/distribution, you can obtain a free or relatively cheap ($10) ISBN number.
The site also has a dashboard, where you can view your statistics. As of today, here's some of my stats:
51 Downloads
3 Linked in Member's Libraries
And keep in mind, I uploaded my story less than 48 hours ago. It's is offered free but I haven't seen that much traffic/interest to my book with the next writer's resource I'm going to talk about.
2. Lulu.com
Lulu is a site I'm been somewhat familiar with for years. I uploaded my book a few weeks ago and as far as I can make out, I have not moved a single unit, despite my book being a free digital download.
Since the short time that I've joined Lulu, I've gotten almost about half a dozen spam messages from other writers, trying to sell their works. I wouldn't mind so much, but these messages are so poorly written. I'd share but I don't want to embarrass anyone!
Note to new writers: If you're going to spam people to in an attempt to buy your books, at least use proper capitalization, punctuation, no confusing double negatives, etc. or else the general book buying public will think your book will follow suit. Lord knows that it probably does. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
3. StoryMania
I haven't used this in years but I have one or two stories on there. If you want to read some stories and have your stories read in return, this is a pretty good bet. Beware, if a writer already has your (real) name, you need to sign up with a different name.
This story won me $50 through a scholarship contest at my college. I also plan to include (with some minor character changes) in a new book I'm writing.
4. Writing.com
Again, another good resource for writers who don't want to self-publish quite yet but are ready to share pieces of the work to an audience.
This is a fun site to browse and discover many of their fun little features, such as gift points. Somehow I have
accumulated 485 gift points and I only have one submission on the site. Gift points can be redeemed for
stuff. You can also purchase gift points ($1 gets you 10,000 points). Members can send and receive points as
well.
Sidenote: I decided to give away free digital copies of my book, Thinks and Things, just a consideration to take in when viewing some of my stats.
1. smashwords.com
I just recently joined and I've already had some noticeable success with this site. I uploaded my story (easy conversion tool-it converts your book to at least seven different formats. (Although, I need to tweak the formatting of my story so it looks nice on people's electronic reading devices-please hold off on downloading mine for another day so I can tweak the formatting-no tabs, huh?).
If you're accepted into their premium catalog http://www.smashwords.com/distribution, you can obtain a free or relatively cheap ($10) ISBN number.
The site also has a dashboard, where you can view your statistics. As of today, here's some of my stats:
51 Downloads
3 Linked in Member's Libraries
And keep in mind, I uploaded my story less than 48 hours ago. It's is offered free but I haven't seen that much traffic/interest to my book with the next writer's resource I'm going to talk about.
2. Lulu.com
Lulu is a site I'm been somewhat familiar with for years. I uploaded my book a few weeks ago and as far as I can make out, I have not moved a single unit, despite my book being a free digital download.
Since the short time that I've joined Lulu, I've gotten almost about half a dozen spam messages from other writers, trying to sell their works. I wouldn't mind so much, but these messages are so poorly written. I'd share but I don't want to embarrass anyone!
Note to new writers: If you're going to spam people to in an attempt to buy your books, at least use proper capitalization, punctuation, no confusing double negatives, etc. or else the general book buying public will think your book will follow suit. Lord knows that it probably does. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
3. StoryMania
I haven't used this in years but I have one or two stories on there. If you want to read some stories and have your stories read in return, this is a pretty good bet. Beware, if a writer already has your (real) name, you need to sign up with a different name.
This story won me $50 through a scholarship contest at my college. I also plan to include (with some minor character changes) in a new book I'm writing.
4. Writing.com
Again, another good resource for writers who don't want to self-publish quite yet but are ready to share pieces of the work to an audience.
This is a fun site to browse and discover many of their fun little features, such as gift points. Somehow I have
accumulated 485 gift points and I only have one submission on the site. Gift points can be redeemed for
stuff. You can also purchase gift points ($1 gets you 10,000 points). Members can send and receive points as
well.
Monday, August 30, 2010
In case you didn't see
You can now get a digital copy of my story, Thinks and Things, free via lulu at this link.
In case you didn't see that I updated my previous blog entry:
EDIT: Contest is now over and I will be emailing the winners shortly. I was very pleased with the number of entries so I'm giving away multiple copies of my book. Check your email today!
Caroline, tehanu0071, and julielouise: you were also chosen as winners. Please email me @ pandoraslocker1@yahoo.com so I can also send each of you a copy as well. :)
I shall hold another contest soon for those who were late in entering :)
In case you didn't see that I updated my previous blog entry:
EDIT: Contest is now over and I will be emailing the winners shortly. I was very pleased with the number of entries so I'm giving away multiple copies of my book. Check your email today!
Caroline, tehanu0071, and julielouise: you were also chosen as winners. Please email me @ pandoraslocker1@yahoo.com so I can also send each of you a copy as well. :)
I shall hold another contest soon for those who were late in entering :)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
FREE book giveaway contest
EDIT: Contest is now over and I will be emailing the winners shortly. I was very pleased with the number of entries so I'm giving away multiple copies of my book. Check your email today!
Caroline, tehanu0071, and julielouise: you were also chosen as winners. Please email me @ pandoraslocker1@yahoo.com so I can also send each of you a copy as well. :)
I will be giving away a free copy of my new book, Thinks and Things. Anyone from anywhere can enter.
To win: leave a comment
to get two entries: follow this blog.
Contest ends on August 28th.
Thinksandthings can hear people's thoughts and turn them into things. However, the world just isn't ready for a farm of Grandma clones or to be introduced to the Durtle (half dog, half turtle creature).
The Fixer repairs the damage some of the thinks have caused. However, when the Witch from the Hansel and Gretel fable escapes to Suburbia, a carousel lion comes to life and terrorizes small towns, and the Big Dipper starts to disappear from the sky, the Fixer has to work faster and harder before these things unfold irreversibly, all while tracking down Thinksandthings.
Specs:
Book size: 5.5 by 8.5
Binding: perfect
Pages: 105
Cover: glossy, designed by the author (me!)
Caroline, tehanu0071, and julielouise: you were also chosen as winners. Please email me @ pandoraslocker1@yahoo.com so I can also send each of you a copy as well. :)
I will be giving away a free copy of my new book, Thinks and Things. Anyone from anywhere can enter.
To win: leave a comment
to get two entries: follow this blog.
Contest ends on August 28th.
Thinksandthings can hear people's thoughts and turn them into things. However, the world just isn't ready for a farm of Grandma clones or to be introduced to the Durtle (half dog, half turtle creature).
The Fixer repairs the damage some of the thinks have caused. However, when the Witch from the Hansel and Gretel fable escapes to Suburbia, a carousel lion comes to life and terrorizes small towns, and the Big Dipper starts to disappear from the sky, the Fixer has to work faster and harder before these things unfold irreversibly, all while tracking down Thinksandthings.
Specs:
Book size: 5.5 by 8.5
Binding: perfect
Pages: 105
Cover: glossy, designed by the author (me!)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Summer Reading List '10
I'm going to keep track of all the books I read this summer and beyond! Here's most of the ones I've read
Books
The Book Thief
Nancy Drew #26 Clue of the Leaning Chimney
Betsy Was a Junior
Betsy and Joe
Nancy Drew #12 The Message in the Hollow Oak
Nancy Drew #22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
Nancy Drew #18 Mystery of the Moss-covered Mansion
Nancy Drew #28 The Clue of the Black Keys
Nancy Drew #2 The Hidden Staircase
Nancy Drew #1
Snuff
Magazines/other materials
New Moon May-Jun 09
Books
The Book Thief
Nancy Drew #26 Clue of the Leaning Chimney
Betsy Was a Junior
Betsy and Joe
Nancy Drew #12 The Message in the Hollow Oak
Nancy Drew #22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
Nancy Drew #18 Mystery of the Moss-covered Mansion
Nancy Drew #28 The Clue of the Black Keys
Nancy Drew #2 The Hidden Staircase
Nancy Drew #1
Snuff
Magazines/other materials
New Moon May-Jun 09
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Dear high school graduates: online classes suck!
Online courses may sound convenient and the way education is headed for the future, but there's still several things that need tweaking.
Online courses can be a great thing if you have children, are home bound, or live far away from campus. But if none of the above applies to you, you may want to reconsider before signing up for an online course.
The Phantom Professor...read more
Online courses can be a great thing if you have children, are home bound, or live far away from campus. But if none of the above applies to you, you may want to reconsider before signing up for an online course.
The Phantom Professor...read more
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mustache Mayhem: unexpected growth in the mainstream
A curious trend has risen the past couple of years: the Mustache. I don't mean that many more men are sporting handlebars and the like, but mustaches have been appearing on everything from t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, jewelry, and vending machines. Yes, you can buy a mustache (fake, of course) for about 25 or 50 cents that comes in its own plastic capsule.
This phenomenon has even reached a considerable amount of young women...read more
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