Ready for Kobo publishing?

Kobo promises to launch soon a new platform for writers. All you need is an account with them and your book ready to be converted. The rest will be done by them. 

While preparing this post, I took the opportunity to browse their library and I found many interesting books. The site can be read in English, French, Dutch and German. For iPad and iPhone users, there are additional possibilities to find the best formats for an easy reading.

If you are passionate about reading - as I am - but your reading budget is strictly limited, you have the option of free eBooks  covering the following domains: popular films based on books, verses, classics, gothic, mysteries and romance. If you are ready to pack for your dream vacation but feel unhappy that you can't take a book with you, now you have a couple of opportunities to relax while learning and reading something new.

Welcome to the Kobo world! 

No space for the audio-books into my life

The idea of audio-books did not enter my universe easily. The reason was not a certain romantic idea about the need to feel and smell the paper. When the Kindle entered the market, I was more than happy to use it because I correctly seized the opportunity to save money and space for more books. My reluctance against the audio-books is purely of practical nature: very often, I use the musical/sound-related background when I am doing boring editing and, in general, activities that do not require a high level of concentration. Consequently, my choices of audio books are significantly narrowed: most probably will prefer books in languages that I want to improve and that will create a certain familiarity with the words.

But, due to the fact that many sites and blogs posting free books were closed or decided to shut down by themselves following the controversies around ACTA, the chances to find free books decreased. I know the pros and cons of the free books and I am tempted to support a middle position: free books should be allowed if the author wants to. On the other hand, the author should be aware that such a policy will encourage more readers to pay for the other titles if the first (free) impression was positive. Anyway, the alternative to free books are the audio books and there are some interesting websites offering free audio books. When no other solution possible, why not giving a try to the audio books? It is what I’ve done this evening, but I am still trying to get used with the system. Literature is a different category of reading and in comparison with, for instance, a lecture that you listen to refresh information already knew, for understanding correctly a novel or a short story, any word is important. The conclusion, at least for the next ten years to come, is that I will use the audio variants only when no other possibilities available. I continue to be a grateful follower of the written word. 

Book Review: Warriors into the Wild (1)

As an aspiring children's writer myself, reading the books for the little ones could be considered a professional duty. However, the hidden reason is that I simply love to read such books and sometimes I find such lectures a real challenge from the point of view of the language and writing in general. 

I chose Warriors into the Wild completely by accident: One afternoon, in the bookstore, I wanted to find a book, not too expensive not necessarily for children. Even though I am not a fan of cats - I am even allergic to them - and do not fancy too much books with animal characters - a matter of age target - the good price and the attractive cover drove me to the counter for paying it. 

First, to start with the cover: pleasant colours and a dynamic image that gives you an idea that there is action is waiting for you under the covers.

Second, it is a pleasant and entertaining book to read either for your documentation or simply for spending a relaxing afternoon. The language is well chosen, with a lot of verbs of action and a moderate difficulty level which recommends the book for children up to 8 years old. Also, there are some episodes of moderate violence that could raise the threshold to 10 years and more.

The book is part of a long series which started to be published in 2003 and is written by Erin Hunter, in fact a name for two authors. The book was compared with the Harry Potter series but at least for this first volume, I did not find too many common points, except the magic stone that appears at the end of the book. 

The subject is the life of feral cats and the adventures of the apprentice Firepaw. Firepaw is a domestic cat that left his quiet life for living in the wild forest, where the rules are made by four fighting clans. Firepaw, the 'kittypet' used to the comfort of the life alongside the 'twolegs' succeeds to qualify as a good fighter, under the name of 'Fireheart', at the end of a couple of adventures during which honesty and the good heart guided him to make the powerful choices. Thus, for example, when he met Barley, a cat from the previous life, while hunting, and asked if he like his current life, Firepaw's answer was: "I know who I am now".

The characters have a dual nature: you expect their decisions and weaknesses and actions as cats, even though they make moral choices as humans do. The two levels of action do not appear as opposed and this feature makes the book pleasant to read and genuine.

I am not sure that I would have time in the next months to continue the adventures of Firepaw, but if I will have some available time, I will be curious to follow him up.

Book Review: My Last Blind Date

I am not too much into chick lit - although I should confess that I had a time in my life when I was more than delighted to go through the entire Shopaholic series - but I always like to read new books and discover new writing styles. This rainy afternoon I decided that nothing else can help me to find inspiration than this short story by Susan Hatler : My Last Blind Date. 

As I have not heard about the writer before and before starting the lecture, I wanted to browse her website for more info and liked one of her remarks about her writing styles: "I'll write whatever calls to me". 

My Last Blind Date was released in February 2012 and tells the story of the date between Rachel and Noah. Work colleagues and too shy to share their interest in a relationship they are set together on a blind date on Valentine's Day, by Ellen, a generous colleague. The moment of surprise has passed, they get along well together and, if we have to trust the end, are happy even after. 

It is short, at a certain extent predictable story of 25 pages, whose zest is the dialogue: smart yet funny exchanges and interesting wordings going beyond the temptation of triviality that many chick lit and romance books could be tempted to use as a way to attract the readers. Do not expect too much action or suspense, but you can count on a pleasant hour of reading in the afternoon. You can take it on your Kindle while on vacation or read it later in the weekend when you need to get refreshed after 7 exhausting weeks of life as a single.  You should keep your optimism and good humour and simple wonders could always happen. 

Last but not least, the cover is attractive as well, with a lot of red - a colour highly recommended by both specialists in publishing, design and marketing. 

All you want to know about Kindle books

For the moment I am only a writer-in-process, but when I am out of inspiration, I am a permanent reader. Last night, I discovered that months back I downloaded The Kindle's Publisher's Guide and decided that it is the right time not only to better use my Kindle resources, but also to learn how to make my own book.

Most part of the book is dedicated to the step-by-step orientation in a different world of writing and the difference with the usual Microsoft Word is dramatic. This is even more difficult when you deal with various academic works, when you require footnotes and special graphic representations. If you have your own writing plan and want to focus exclusively on your words, you will certainly prefer to focus on a better wording than on  HTML formatting tips. In most cases, you do not even need to do so, as you can operate the various adjustments later, after your text is ready. In addition, you can find many programs - for free - helping with the conversion process. 

One of the most important advise is that you should not publish anything unless you have read it, mainly in the e-reader format, in order to be sure that it is readable from both the technical point of view and from the point of view of the content. 

Besides the detailed technical aspects - that I would love to explore further, eventually, with the help of a dedicated workshop or two, there are some good advices about how to advertise your eBook online:

- Find a good selection of tags and keywords that will help to find out your page in searches

- The usual online description of the book should not go beyond 1,500-2,000 characters

- Find the right target groups for your book and start the conversation about it. 

- If you consider useful, use paid Google AdWorks or Facebook ads for increasing your chances of publicity.

- Monitor permanently the results and the investment.

Overall, it is not very difficult to be a self-published author, but you should be aware that your writing only will not help you to reach success. 

Writing happiness

As a professional writer in the process, I enjoy every piece of advice about how to improve my writing, either it is about simple blogging or sophisticated literary writing. 

Thus, I enjoyed a pleasant lecture of the eBook by Marya Jan - Writing Happiness, How to write blog content that works. You can read this booklet very fast, for free, and if you are looking for some inspiration in-between posts or when you feel that the writers' block is around, it is the right lecture to lift you up.

In the words of the author, it is a "non-grammar focus guide for writers and non-writers who are in the business of generating content". This is the reason why, for instance, you are not scholarly advices that first and forehand your posts should be grammatically correct in order to achieve success. In a way it is obvious, in a world of words facing a very serious confrontation. 

The book includes a couple of very useful advices, more or less evident even for experienced writers. It includes a couple of insightful quotes, mostly from Stephen King's On Writing, a book which I highly appreciate. Regardless of your domain of writing activity, you will find for sure 2-3 tips.

Shortly, here are my lessons learned from the lecture of the Marya Jan's book:

- If you are a writer it does not mean that you should stop reading. You should be in touch permanently with what people from your domain are writing, but also for improving your style and looking for new sources of inspiration. My experience is, when I find something interesting, I prefer to blog about it as well and, eventually, share my impression with my audience.

- You need to find a reason to write. In other words, to find a clear reason to put your words in order. The reader needs to discover something new, and thus clarity is key. The organization of your blog post matter as well: the headline and the first paragraph are very important for a successful reading. The end matters as well as an incentive to encourage the reader to return or to go further to explore other writings published on your blog. 

- Related to the previous aspect, you should find your voice in writing. This is the reason why very often I preferred to put my intensive blogging on hold for a couple of weeks or even months, as I was looking to accommodate different voices and writing personalities.

- Add to the ingredients of a successful writing the proper connection with the reader. Do you know who are your readers, what are their tastes and interests? In many cases, your domain of activity is limiting your domain of activity and thus, creates the possibility for the development of your niche. For instance, if you are a fashion blogger, you will be interested in covering all issues dealing with fashion, but if you are into do-it-yourself fashion it will be even better for reaching a certain audience.

- As you are writing for a blog, you should take into consideration the limited attention and time of your usual writer. If you are interested in complicated writing, you should avoid blogging. However, there are many examples of successful bloggers addressing highly complicated issues with the help of clear expressions and short sentences. 

The original post was published first here: http://findthewordblog.blogspot.de/2012/05/writing-happiness.html

The writing break is over

This blog was on vacation for almost seven years. But as I do not like abandoning any of my writing projects, I would continue to write about writing, books and my daily writing struggle. I used all those days and night since the the last post to improve my writing and even succeeded to get a (modest) living out of writing.
Time to share my experiences and update my plans.
Will be back very soon!