Getting Paper and eBook Editions Linked on Amazon

Now that Kindle and CreateSpace are not altogether the same thing, your paperback and electronic editions of the same book may not be automatically linked. Does this matter? Yes!

If they are not linked, when people find your title, they will see one or the other editions but not both. Where that red oval is in the graphic under "see all formats and editions," it should have another box for "paperback." People are going to think you didn't offer both choices.

This can be solved. If you just published a book, wait at least three days for them to link automatically, but if they don't you can request it be done manually.

You have to log in to your Kindle Account and find a screen where the link for Help appears at the top. It's not on every screen! Click it.


Then find the box called Popular Topics, and choose Linking Editions, then Contact Us in the body of the text. There is a pre-filled list of questions for you to answer. Essentially, they want to be sure everything about the editions matches. They'll ask for the ISBN and ASIN numbers.

Submit the info. I've had to do this a few times now, and the links have been created within a day.

This can also be done if there are problems with audiobooks or multiple editions of a title not being linked.

Writing in the Car- Voice Journal App

Yesterday was a long car day. I usually do some good thinking for books while driving, and wanted to be sure I didn't lose what I thought up, so I went looking for a free speech to text app. I tried the Voice Journal App for Android. It works, but right now, I'm giving it three stars and looking for something else to try.

I had the basic plot of then next Anastasia Raven mystery in my head. It will be Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe, a Christmas mystery. But I thought I could flesh out the characters and their motives to dislike the person who dies. After a day of devious plotting, I think I'm going to like this book.

Voice Journal was pretty simple to use. Maybe too simple in terms of options. You can give entries a title. Then you just touch RECORD to bring up the text pad. You can actually do a text entry or touch the microphone to speak.


There doesn't seem to be a limit to the length of file you can make, since I recorded on and off all day. The accuracy of what was in the text is better than marginal, but not great. I can figure out what I said, but won't be doing much cut and paste to save excerpts.

It seemed like all you could see of your input was in that little central slice, but learned later after I wasn't driving that you can see more, to be able to scroll and read by using the back arrow at the bottom of the screen (the phone triangle one).

The black arrow that says Entry Details takes you back to the screen with all your entries.


Since the first one was a test run, I wanted to delete it. That doesn't seem to be a possibility.

You can email the text file to anyone in your contacts, send to dropbox, facebook, or lots of other choices in your own app list. Do this by touching the EXPORT label. I chose to send it to dropbox, where it appeared as a txt file.

I made this really small on purpose so you can't read it. It's full of spoilers, but you can see that it's just one huge block of text. There's a period wherever I paused, which was often. Odd names throw it for a loop.


At any rate, I made some good progress on a book instead of losing all that stupid driving time.

One really bad thing- I didn't push stop when I was finished one time, and Google Maps- which I was using for driving directions stopped talking to me. This was really bad in a traffic jam around Nashville! I discovered what had happened because all my comments (yeah, I talk to myself) made while trying to get the map to talk appeared in the text file for Voice Journal!

Concept Cover - The Bigg Boss

Yes, I'm already working on the outline for the 4th Dubois Files mystery. Title is The Bigg Boss. Mr. Bigg is the owner of the canning factory that Cora's father manages in Cherry Pit Junction. But the friends are about to get to know him better. That might not work out so well.

Here's the concept cover without lettering. I'll be delivering it to Linda J. Sandow tonight so she can begin working her magic.


Tentatively, The Bigg Boss will be available at the July 21 Writers' Rendezvous in Ludington!

What Does an Author Do All Day?

maps, photos, tape

At the event in Pentwater earlier this week I mentioned that while I was writing North Country Cache I had a nice disciplined schedule for writing. Someone asked me how long every day I spent writing. My answer was two hours. They seemed fairly appalled, so I then explained that meant sitting at the computer and pounding a keyboard for two hours. I was always thinking about what I would write next, figuring out ideas and all that.

Here's how I spent today working on North Country Quest. Time invested on authorly stuff-- 5 or 6 hours. Total words written-- 244, none of which may survive once I get this chapter really going.

However, here's what I did:
• Put away the files and stuff from writing Chapter 2- "Meanders and Undulations." Yes, this counts. I'm really bad at putting stuff away.
• Got out the file for Chapter 3- probably named "Chasing Nomad and JoJo Smiley"
• Found the tape of that hike
• Found the pictures of that hike
• Read the brief notes I'd made about ideas for that chapter
• Listened to the tape twice. The first time, I just had to get my head back into that adventure, the second time I began to formulate ideas.
• Re-acquainted myself with those maps, notes, pictures etc.
• Transferred the tape to digital format, which involved finding the right cord.
• Read most of Nomad and JoJo Smiley's online journal since the chapter involves their hike, at least psychologically
• called Marie to see if she remembered a piece of this puzzle. I hiked alone, but visited her on one end
• wrote those 244 words

And, not related to NCQ, I claimed the Dubois Files books on Goodreads, so people can find them to review.

That's how an author spends time. Now my brain will probably wrestle with ideas all night.

See Meanders and Undulations

Meanders and Undulations

Chapter 2 in North Country Quest is done. Title is "Meanders and Undulations."



This hike was East Fork State Park in Ohio (and a little more on each end). I had a lot of it written already, but as I said in the post linked below I was having trouble making it work. The problem was that although these first two hikes connected geographically, they were separated by several days, were different in character, and needed to be two different chapters. Now I've got it sorted out!

Here's how it starts:

Deb is excited about backpacking together. She is a friend from the Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the North Country Trail Association, our home chapter in Michigan. The NCTA works to build, protect and promote the trail, and there are thirty chapters along its length. Thousands of volunteers donate millions of hours to keep the pathway in good shape. But, to my knowledge, usually in the daytime.

Debbie meets me in Williamsburg, Ohio. We take my car to Batavia and I ride my bike back to Williamsburg. Deb sits outside a grocery store and waits for me to return. I recently asked her how she spent the time. “I read War and Peace, helped an old lady cross the street, and started writing a novel based on our hike,” she said.

Dang, that must be the slowest I ever rode eight miles in my life!

I ask permission to lock my bicycle to a post outside the store for the days until we return. Of course they won’t take any responsibility, but at least I can be fairly sure they won’t have the lock cut and take the bike to the police station as abandoned.

We adjust packs, distribute the shared parts of the load and set off for East Fork State Park. After only two miles we find our first obstacle, the East Fork of the Little Miami River. The map assures us it’s usually shallow but has very slippery rocks. We switch to sandals and carefully ford the wide waterway. Neither of us takes a dunking, but it’s always amazing to me how long it takes to walk a couple hundred feet under difficult circumstances.

We soon join the Perimeter Trail of the park, and the map informs us that the trail “meanders and undulates generally, more-or-less...” Deb and I have a laugh at the terminology, but we should only consider ourselves forewarned.

In other good news, the local bookstore took six sets of my Dubois Files children's mysteries today.

See Too Fast at Car Speed- chapter 1

Pentwater Library Program

Hanne Kelley (holding book, left of center) is turning out to be a fantastic moderator for author events. Having someone to ask questions and say nice things without the author always being the one to harp on the good qualities of one's books is priceless as far as I'm concerned.

There were about ten people at this gathering, which was a good sized group for the discussion. Not a disappointing evening at all, given the venue.

And afterwards, I was invited to Hanne's house to visit, and we got better acquainted. I think we have quite a lot in common. Fun times. (and her dog likes me too).

See previous Pentwater program

Signing Books with Linda

 

If you have signed copies of the first three Dubois Files books coming your way, they are one step closer. Linda and I spent two hours today signing books. Single sets are in mailers. If I'm hand delivering to you, you'll get yours tomorrow or Thursday depending on how long work is on Wednesday. Others will be in the mail, ditto.

Thank you so much for this early support! If you read the books (as well as your kids or grandkids), a review at your favorite book site would be much appreciated.

I also worked on North Country Quest a bit today, too.