I recently added a map to the front matter of The Hall of the Wood because I think maps are an important part of the fantasy reading experience. One of the first questions my illustrator, Jared Blando, asked me was if I wanted black & white or color images. Because I wanted to use the map on the World of Uhl site and because lots and lots of people now have color eReading devices, of course I said color. If needed, I can easily convert the image to black & white myself.

I anticipated problems. Not with Jared or the maps themselves but with eBooks and the devices we read them on. Sure enough, after adding the map to the Kindle eBook version and viewing it on my Kindle 2, I saw right away that the map was next to useless. It’s simply impossible to read.

Here’s a couple of images which attempt to demonstrate the problem. It’s unfortunately very difficult to take a picture of a Kindle screen. (Try it if you don’t believe me. Maybe if I took in in full sunlight, but it’s too darn c... [More]

I'm stepping into the way-back machine today to highlight a series I wrote back in 2009 about selling your eBook without a publisher.

Back then I was just getting started with self-publishing. A lot of people were. I used the series of posts primarily as a way to familiarize myself with the various retailers, services, and how to actually produce an eBook. I've learned a lot since then. Still learning, in fact. But I think this series is still relevant. In fact, I think I could expand on it. For example, Kobo and CreateSpace are missing as retailers and service providers, respectively. Both are used by yours truly.

But, for now, here is the 8 part series in its original form broken down by post.

1. Selling Your eBook Without a Publisher, Part 1: Introduction
2. Selling Your eBook Without a Publisher, Part 2: E-book Formatting
3. Selling Your eBook Without a Publisher, Part 3: Book Covers
4. Selling Your eBook Without a Publisher, Part 4: Amazon.com
5. Selling Your eBook Without a... [More]

In the world of software, version numbers are used so people can distinguish between different product versions or builds. The following is one way in which version numbers are broken down:

(Major version).(Minor version).(Revision number).(Build number)

Let's look at each of these.

1. Major version: The major version can be thought of as the product version. Office 11, for example, where '11' is the major version.
2. Minor version: The minor version often indicates a point release containing enhancements, bug fixes, and generally significant improvements just short of the product warranting a new major version.
3. Revision number: If major and minor versions of a product are identical but have different revision numbers, then those assemblies (a DLL, for example) are meant to be interchangeable. A new revision might indicate, for example, that a security hole was plugged. Functionally, though, the two assemblies are identical.
4. Build number: The build number is associated w... [More]

The past couple of weeks I've highlighted two ways in which readers can get my eBooks for less than retail. The first way you get a steep discount. The second, you get a full discount, as in the eBooks are free.

Here's the deals:

1. Get'em for $0.99

The 99 cent method involves heading out to Smashwords and using one of the coupon codes below.

The Five Elements - JJ32F

The Hall of the Wood - EC98E (not for sale currently)

2. Get'em for free

The second way is slightly more complicated because it requires a commitment on your end. But in exchange you get the eBooks for free. The reasoning behind this was discussed in this post, but the gist of it is that in exchange for me sending you either or both of my eBooks in a format of your choo... [More]

There's an easy way to get one of my eBooks for free that's perfectly legit in literary circles. This method also does not violate retailers' review guidelines. How you accomplish this is by agreeing to write and post a review.

Exchanging a free book for a review is really the only legitimate manner in which an author can obtain a review (beyond a person just buying the book and leaving a review themselves, of course). There are other means being employed, though, including some that are outright wrong and others that maybe are a bit borderline. On one hand you have authors who pay people, who in some cases don't even read the book, to leave a review. That's wrong. On the other, you have authors running various promotions including giveaways of, for example, Kindle Fires or Amazon gift cards. This violates the 'free book for a review' guideline of which Amazon explicitly condemns under their "What's not allowed" section:

Reviews ... [More]

Most of the time when I finish a book, I'm ready to buy the next one on my wish list right away. Since I own a Kindle, my preferred reading format is digital. The problem of late is that too many of the eBooks on my list are, in my opinion, over-priced.

Amazon ignited widespread interest in eBooks with the introduction of their first Kindle eReader. As prices for the device came down, and the device itself got better (smaller, faster, crisper display, smaller form factor, etc.) , more and more people joined the eBook revolution. Unfortunately, with the success of the Kindle came increased scrutiny from the Big 6. In particular, publishers were not pleased with Amazon's practice of slashing eBook prices to the point where the price of the eBook was actually lower than the wholesale price Amazon paid for the book in the first place. It made sense from Amazon's perspective: they wanted to sell Kindles. In order for people to buy into a hardware purchase amounting to several hundred dolla... [More]

Apparently this week (Mar. 6 – 12) is Read an eBook Week. In honor of this, I've reduced the price on both of my eBook format fantasy novels to $0.99. You'll find this price on Amazon and Smashwords.

Since I'm a little late with this announcement, I'll keep the prices in place until the end of next week, March 19.

Of course, as a reminder, if you can deal with a PDF version, both novels are available on this site as free downloads. The only thing I would ask is that you leave a review on Amazon or Smashwords, especially if you enjoy the read. Thanks.

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