Short story up on Microcerpt.

[Kellemora]

I placed a best selling short story, "Lady Buff & Yardstick, the Three-footed Kitten" up on Microcerpt, so it is free to read for those who visit.

http://microcerpt.com/dutchrhudy/blog/2014/06/lady-buff-and-yardstick-the-three-footed-kitten-01/

Enjoy

[Ice.Maiden]

:clap: Thank you Gary. As I've been privileged to read on, I know that it's a great little story.

[Kellemora]

All of it is up there Icey, I just don't know how to link to them together, since the way the website works, each upload is a different post. They do come up together on my page, but a link to it only opens for me, not from another computer. It's only four posts long. Hope you can find the rest of it.

Of the short stories, this one is the best selling.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Sure thing Gary! Thanks again. I think it's great.

[Kellemora]

I know I posted this elsewhere, but here is a link to the page that shows each posted part of the story.
The whole thing is posted in only four posts.

http://microcerpt.com/dutchrhudy/

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Yes - read them all. It deserves to sell well. Have you started on any new project?

[Kellemora]

Hi Icey
I'm getting very close to publishing the first in a series.
Way back in January, we were shooting for a June publication date.
Trouble is, the editor did not say in which year that June would fall, hi hi...
Currently, I'm hopefully in my second to last rewrite.

My NaNoWriMo winning Novel is doing better than I thought it would, considering it was not yet professionally edited.
One of my friends is the marketing director for a major publishing company.
He has developed a very sensible strategy regarding how digitized books should be marketed.
Provided they are as best one can make them to be without wasting a lot of money on a book that may never sell well. He covered several important topics, and gave averages based on thousands of examples, which solidly proved each of his points.

It simply boils down to making your book the best you can make it, utilizing beta readers and critiquers.
There is enough garbage placed on resellers like Amazon, and pile is getting deeper.
If the story is good and gains enough readers to warranty a stage 2 professional edit. Get a professional edit which carries it to stage 3 and republish digitally.
If sales continue to climb, get another professional edit of your work, and republish a third edition in both digital and paperback, using a POD printer.
If sales continue to climb, perhaps a Trad publisher will pick it up and give it a high gloss shine before publishing in mass printing.

One of his points was simply. Why spend two grand or more on editing services, if the story is not going to attract attention. Then too, there is the pitfall of over polishing a story. Making it too perfect is detrimental also. Humans are not perfect, a reader expects a few minor mistakes, it brings the author down to their human level. Only the grammar Nazi's and top critics complain. This is good! If a top critic sits up and notices your book and takes the time to write even a bad review. By then who cares? A bad review from a top critic means you are already smiling at the bank teller each time you deposit a check.

I have a phrase I say quite often. I look forward to being bashed by critics some day.

[Ice.Maiden]

Well you know Gary, I think I once said something similar, way back when you were first interesting me with your writing. I said something re. my own work, on the lines of: "I don't care what the critics say", but which was meant to include your own work.

If YOU'RE satisfied with it, and there are folk out there who also enjoy it - carry on, and may the best of luck be with you.

I'm so pleased to hear that your NaNoWriMo novel's doing better than you expected it to! Congratulations.

In my mind, it doesn't matter if things move with small steps at first anyway. You're accomplishing something, getting noticed - and enjoy doing it. Fantastic! : )

[Kellemora]

Hi Icey

I really don't care much about the Grammar Nazi's at this stage of the game.
I have my plans in place, and if a book don't support further improvement, I don't waste more money on it.

After all, some of the worst written books are flying high on the best seller lists and holding there for long periods of time. Enough so the authors become rich on poorly written and edited garbage. Only because the book attracted the type of people they catered to. Most of which wouldn't know a lick about grammar anyhow.

I recently wrote a comparative article about authors vs cars.
Everyone wants to drive a luxury car, but very few can afford it.

The garbage books are like the old unkempt clunkers on the road.
New authors are like an older used car, but well maintained.
(Their books are the best they could make them, without outside help.)
Experienced authors are like a newer used car, well maintained and polished.
(Their books are the best they could make them, through beta reader and critique group assistance.)
Successful authors are like a new car, with good paint and high quality shine.
(Their books are the best they could make them, with expensive paid professional editing services.)
Exceptional authors are like a luxury car, with a Simonized high gloss polish.
(Their books are not only professionally edited, but also go through a chain of professional editing and vetting services.)

Each step up costs an author increasingly larger fees.
If you are not rich, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up the ladder.
Saving what you earn from one book, to polish the next a little brighter, until you are in the new car range.
And if you are lucky, a trad publisher will pick you up and put you in the luxury car class.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Very good!

However, you then get the odd author, like JK Rowling, who was out of work and struggling to bring up her children single-handedly. Someone liked her work, and hey presto, but for the majority of authors, yes, it can be a huge slog, but if someone loves writing, they won't be deterred, even if their work's not exactly profitable at first.

No, I wouldn't be concerned about the grammar thing either. That can always be rectified later, and lots of people get away with faux pas anyway.

Keep up the good work!!

[Kellemora]

Thanks Icey

I placed the first part of my first published short-story up on Microcerpt now.
Like the last one, I will be putting the whole book up.
This one is non-fiction.

[Ice.Maiden]

Well I admire your tenacity Gary, and with some luck, you'll reap the fruits of your labour.

I've often wondered if you incorporate some of your hilarious musings on nbf into your stories? I've laughed out loud at some of your posts - in the nicest of ways. I feel you have a good SOH, which you manage to put over well, and which I'm sure'd be brilliant as a series of short tales.

[Kellemora]

I tried writing humor, it wasn't phunny. Quite a sad attempt in fact.

[Ice.Maiden]

Oh bless!! Perhaps you manage to put things down in an amusing way and you don't realise the talent behind it? It must come naturally, which's great!

[Kellemora]

I wish things came easily Icey.

Looks like Microcerpts new program has a few hiccups.
My work is up, but not displayed on the main pages yet, so I skipped adding another section yesterday.
Have not been there yet today to see if anything is fixed yet.
All of the groups are gone, poof, although the links to them are still active, they produce a 404 page error.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Oh dear! Is it a broken or dead link then? URL mis-spelt? : (

[Kellemora]

They were in the process of moving everything over to a new server.
Took them a couple of days longer than anticipated.
Next they will be upgrading the main website.
So I'm holding off adding the next chapter until they are finished.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Looks like you haven't much choice in a way, but I hope everything soon gets sorted out for you.

[Kellemora]

I'm curious about something.

I put the entire short story up, not just excerpts as teasers.

If someone can read it for free, why would they then turn around and buy the e-book?

I did ask one person who bought it, and they had a most interesting answer.
Although they could have seen what they wanted to see on any of the sales websites.
They wanted a clearer image of the cover, and wanted a copy on their Kindle to read to their grandkids.
OK, but what about the rest of those who bought it after reading the whole thing?

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

I can only say that they enjoyed it so much that they wanted to buy the e-book, to keep? Whatever their reasons - don't knock it. Selling your stories's what you want to do, and in turn, other people might read the e-books on someone else's Kindle, for instance, whereas they might not see it on a sales website? Then they might also go out and buy it as a keepsake.