About Me

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Hi, welcome to my blog, I am a writer of short stories, children's and YA novels . An acceptance from People's Friend finally made me a published writer! Yeah, happy days! I have since had stories published in The Weekly News and The Last Laugh anthology. My main love is writing children's/YA novels...I'm now enduring a fruitless search for an agent... I also draw and paint, I like to draw animals (usually my adorable crazy cats!)Occasionally famous people and motorcycles.

Saturday, 23 February 2013

The KDP adventure!

      I have been wondering whether to go ahead and publish my Teen Sci-Fi novel on Kindle, as it is  now well over twelve years since it began life as an idea. It has ventured out to numerous different publishers over the years, with one or two promising comments, but the majority of standard rejections. I have also tried agents, again just the standard 'no'. So, is it really so important to me to be published by a traditional publisher? I keep asking myself this, as I'm sure many of us do.

    Anyway, I decided to just have a go and see how easy/difficult it would be and had the bright idea of putting a short 750 word children's book on.  Well that took me all of yesterday. I put the painting I did ages ago on as the book cover, and all has gone ok. Apart from the fact that it looks really 'home made'. I also have no idea how anyone would find the book, apart from me telling everyone it's there of course. I can't seem to get it in a category other than 'juvenile-general' and 'juvenile-bedtime/dreams', neither of which seem quite right!??
   But I've done it now. At first I was proud of myself just for figuring out the basics, then I was all scared about the fact that it's there for the world to see, and now I'm feeling a bit...deflated.


   
Here it is,
TUMBLY MOUSE SNEAKS OUT OF HIS HOUSE (Please excuse home-made cover)


I felt ridiculously cheeky asking for money for the story, but I don't really know what the done thing is!
It will be free to download on SUN 24th FEB, if anyone would like a quick read, or have children in need of a bedtime story. Sorry there's no pictures in it, that's a whole new ball game!

 Eeeek!

How do you feel about KDP? Have you had good experiences? I am a complete novice here, I don't even have a kindle (only the PC version).
As for putting the novel on there, I'm still undecided, it means so much to me and it's a scary world. :/




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17 comments:

  1. Anonymous23 February 2013 at 14:53

    Firstly, I think the cover looks great. Truly I do. Nothing 'home-made' about it in my eyes.

    Secondly, I understand your reluctance to go the digital way. I am in the same boat. However, I shall keep persevering for an agent for a bit longer. The reason being, I have no interest in Kindle (or the like) and have no intention of reading a book on one. But hey, that's just me and I have been known to change my mind from time to time.

    I wish you well. Good luck!

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  2. penandpaints23 February 2013 at 16:18

    Hi Wendy, thank you very much, that makes me feel better!
    I know what you mean, I would really love to go through the traditional agent/publisher route but I'm wondering how long is too long to be trying!

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  3. Joanna24 February 2013 at 01:31

    I agree with Wendy, penandpaints. Your cover looks fantastic. I think it's very appealing.

    I think you've done really well to master the process and you are right to feel proud. But I can also fully understand your inner conflict at the prospect of publishing your novel.
    It means an enormous amount to you, which makes it a really hard decision, one that comes right from the heart.
    I am only just starting to go down the agents/publishers route, but I am sure I would consider publishing to Kindle if the traditional way doesn't work out for me. I would so love just one person to enjoy my book and feel moved by it.
    Like you, I would feel a little daunted about using Kindle. I still love printed books so much and it's always been my dream to see something I have written on the shelves. Having said that, with Kindle as an alternative, I will feel very pleased that there is another way to bring it out into the world. As you say, the difficulty is in knowing when is the right time to do it'
    I wish you all the luck in the world with coming to your decision. Let us know how you get on. x

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    1. penandpaints24 February 2013 at 07:32

      Thank you, Joanna! That's just how I feel, the dream of having a book on the shelves of the local bookstore is still a strong desire! Kindle/self publishing is another route and I would love for someone to see and enjoy my book, so it's a possibility!
      x

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  4. Rosemary Gemmell24 February 2013 at 06:18

    Your cover looks brilliant - really. Only one thing I'd mention is that your name isn't on it! I'll download it today and have a read. You should try and get a few reviews on Amazon, then mention it on FB and twitter (if you're on either). I'm going to be starting a new feature mentioning children's and YA books on my Flights of Imagination blog from tomorrow.

    As far as your teen book goes - what age is it aimed at? My publisher, MuseItUp in Canada, takes tween novels and YA. I know of several other epublishers who take teen books, although there's nothing wrong with doing it yourself and keeping more of the royalties! You could then publish print copies through FeedARead, Lulu, or Createspace. But I do like having a professional editor and cover artist, and it's quite good to start with a publisher.

    It's probably too long a subject to take up more space in the comments but please do email me if you'd like more suggestions ros_gemmell(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. penandpaints24 February 2013 at 07:34

      Thanks, Rosemary, that's really helpful, I appreciate it. I'm looking into FeedARead now! x

      Delete
  5. Old Kitty24 February 2013 at 11:11

    Beautiful penandpaints!! For you I've gritted my teeth and stopped my usual *shake fists at anything KDP or anything like it cos I can't bear to read anything online as I am a dinosaur/throwback/neanderthal woman. Ahem* and just NOW!! downloaded your story on my kindle for pc thingy!!!! I can't wait to let my inner child read it now!! It looks ADORABLE!!!!! WELL DONE YOU!!!

    Take care
    x

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  6. penandpaints24 February 2013 at 11:20

    Awww,(sniff) thank you, Old Kitty! I am so touched that you will ignore your kindle-dislike for me! I hope your inner child likes the story, I am so worried now! xx

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  7. Old Kitty24 February 2013 at 11:50

    P.s. just read it. Just left a review on amazon. Just totally loved it!!! Now please add some illustrations - you've got the talent!!! I have absolutely no idea how to add illustrations to the text on KDP but you must, you must!! LOL! It's lovely!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    Take care
    x

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  8. penandpaints24 February 2013 at 11:58

    Thank you so much!! I will figure out the picture adding, just need another day to figure out what's what! Thanks again for your lovely words xx

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  9. Patsy27 February 2013 at 03:48

    I love that cover.

    I've published two ebooks with kdp. The difficulty is, as you've discovered, letting people know about them.

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    1. penandpaints27 February 2013 at 12:28

      Hi Patsy, I'm glad you like the cover!
      Yes, absolutely, I suppose that's always the main problem, however we are published, I think if I publish my novel on kdp I will have to put a lot more effort into publicising!

      Delete
  10. Linda D27 February 2013 at 12:01

    I wouldn't like to advise you one way or another about self-publishing - it's a question I'm still trying to answer for myself! As others have said, the biggest obstacle isn't the publishing but the marketing.
    That said, you must stop apologizing for your work! The cover is obviously hand drawn but for a children's book I think that adds to the charm, especially when it's combined with bright colours and a cute little mouse.
    Good luck with it!

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    1. penandpaints27 February 2013 at 12:31

      Hi Linda!
      Thank you very much, I was hoping the cover would seem 'charming' but was a little afraid it wouldn't look professional, but I have had some positive feedback which is lovely.

      Delete
  11. Mark11 March 2013 at 09:58

    I'm interested to see how this goes for you as I feel I'm in a similar boat with some of my writing. Great post, neat blog:)

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  12. Suzanne Ross Jones7 April 2013 at 16:49

    Arriving very late - so sorry - am a very bad blogger :0(

    The book looks terrific and I adore the cover.

    Lots of luck with it.

    Suz xx

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  13. Old Kitty21 July 2013 at 16:01

    Lovely penandpaints!!! Just popping over to wish you a happy July!!! And yay for the heatwave! LOL! Take care
    x

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I appreciate all your comments, thank you!

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