Friday, August 15, 2014

Amazon KDP Pre-Order Available to Indie Authors



Over the years, I have pre-ordered quite a few books. 

The most memorable pre-order was for one of the Harry Potter books. DH made sure I had the book pre-ordered with the local Hastings Bookstore. The night of the release, DH (who is a non-reader) went to the store’s release party with me. Even though I pre-ordered the other Harry Potter books, I did not go to any more of the release parties. I actually pre-ordered the last Harry Potter book from Amazon. Before noon on the release day, I was lost in Harry’s world.

I have pre-ordered other books from Amazon. As an indie author, I have wished to have that option available for my books. The big publishers have had this option for years, and a select few indie authors have had pre-orders available to them for a shorter time.

Yesterday, I received an email from Amazon KDP announcing that KDP authors now have this option available to them. I am excited about this!

Obviously, there are requirements we authors must follow in order to use this option.
  • To select this option, we have to upload a final version or a draft manuscript for review so Amazon can review it to make sure it fits into their guidelines and policies. This is the same review process already in place for manuscripts uploaded to KDP.
  • Once it is approved, Amazon will create a pre-order detail page.
  •  If a draft manuscript was uploaded, the final version must be uploaded 10 days before the release date the author set.


There are advantages to the pre-order option. 
  • The reader can pre-order the book up to 90 days before the book is released (depending when the author sets the release date).
  • The book is delivered on the release date to your Kindle device or Kindle app on the day it is released.
  • The author can start promoting the book launch. This will increase awareness of the book and author.
  • The pre-sales page can be advertised/promoted on various websites.
  • The pre-sales generated will contribute towards the books sales ranking, which in turn, affects Amazon merchandising. This can help new readers to discover the book and author.


So, what does this mean for me, the author?
I need to re-arrange my writing schedule and calendar so I can incorporate pre-sales for my future books.
I will be able to tell you an exact release date at Amazon. (Sorry, Bryant Station Curves Book 4 will be out at the end of this month. No pre-orders.)

I believe this will be a win-win situation for all of us.
Do you like the idea of pre-ordering a book and having the specific release date?

Monday, August 11, 2014

Last 3 Days!!!

This is it!!!
After this week, the Blog Tour for Reluctantly Undead is over.



August 11   

August 12   

August 13   
(Stop 2)   Kay LaLone

Monday, August 4, 2014

8 Stops on the Blog Tour

Monday, August 4                                                               



Tuesday, August 5 



Wednesday, August 6 


Thursday, August 7 


Friday, August 8 





Sunday, August 3, 2014

Sunday Picture: Momma and Baby


The doves have been nesting in my neighborhood.

Years ago, before the land was sold to developers, was a huge farm. During dove season (when doves are hunted), hunters flocked the area because of the huge numbers of dove here.

The farm is gone, and the area is a huge residential neighborhood, but the doves are coming back in large numbers. They are nesting in the trees people have planted.

This is in my backyard by one of my apple trees.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

What's Currently Happening


The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry

These lines come from the poem, To a Mouse, written in 1786 by Robert Burns.

The poem was written as an apology to mouse.
The title for John Steinbeck's novel (1937) Of Mice and Men comes from this poem.

The lines tell us that even though we carefully craft our plans, things can happen that cause our plans to stray or go wrong.

I working on book 4 in the Bryant Station Curves series. This story is about the twins Todd and Harrison Anderson. Todd is the sheriff of Bryant Station. His twin has made an appearance in a couple of the books. He is a paramedic. Some people call him an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician),  but for Harrison, that classification is wrong. He is a paramedic and holds several certifications.

The book will be released this month. The release date has not been set. My writing plans/schedule went awry.

A few weeks ago, DH (Dear Hubby) went to see his cardiologist, and was put through a series of tests. Problems were found and the next thing we knew, DH was in the cath lab having stints placed into collapsed arteries. We have round three with the cath lab coming up in a few days. Hopefully, this will be the last one, at least for awhile. It's been stressful and scary, especially with the fact DH is only in his forties.

But we do what we have to do because we have to go on living. The alternative...well, I don't even want to think about the alternative.

On a brighter note, the Blog Tour for Reluctantly Undead is still going. We have another week and a half to go. If you haven't, check out the stops. At several, I have written guest posts. I want to thank Shelly at Fire and Ice Book Tours. She has done a wonderful job of organizing everything. Thank you!

What are my plans after Bryant Station Curves book 4 comes out?

As always, my ideas book is overflowing. I have four more books planned for Bryant Station Curves (not counting book 4). I have plans for a spin-off series revolving around the Wolf pack from Abby's Heart. I have a family tree created for the family, and I'm jotting down ideas.

I'm playing with the idea of a spin-off for Tara's cat shifting in-laws (Chasing Tara). I have a partial family tree started for the main family and ideas written down.

Ideas for book 2 in the Reluctantly Undead series are also being written down.

Too bad I can't tilt my head and let the stories pour out into the word processing program. LOL!