01 August 2014

Notes - acceptance / work on ebook cover / publicizing worth

         Mid-morning. You and Carol have cleaned up the house and are awaiting Kim who should be here shortly. Paul has a golf outing today as he works tomorrow. The boys are in school. In Owen’s next session Kindergarten 1 (then Kindergarten 2) he has to wear a uniform – the boys are growing up. Kim is going to work on her closets and basement storage to see what to keep, what to give away and what to trash. The plan is a lunch at Longhorn. Next weekend you will be taking care of the boys Saturday and Sunday as Kim and Paul have another wedding in Cleveland. Using your “Find Your Friends” app you see Kim is on King’s Mill Road and will be here within five minutes or so. - Amorella

         1033 hours. Kim and Carol are heading to the basement. Jadah is excited to see her and jumped right up on her lap for a petting.

         You always feel awkward because Carol and Kim always have matters to chat about – girl talk, you call it. – Amorella

         They enjoy each other’s company as women and I am glad that they do. However, I don’t have much to say other than giving a hug and asking how everything is and listening closely. We are father and daughter and good friends. I have no complaints about my relationship with either one. Kim likes the photos for the book covers, and she really likes the proof for the first ebook cover; I am pleased that she does. Carol is accepting of the covers and accepting that I write novels. That is enough for me and she knows it. Writing is a part of my private life, a hobby. She lets me be with it because writing is a part of who I am. She accepts me for who I am. What more could I ask for or want?

         You accept her for who she is too, boy. It is the base of your relationship. Post. – Amorella

         1051 hours. I never know how the posting is going to be each day. Not an inkling that this was going to be in my morning thoughts. I’m going to take a break and see what they are doing down the basement then I imagine I will work on chapter two, book two. 


         You had an excellent ‘dinner’ for lunch at Longhorn. Kim decided to stay and chat until after a light supper at Penn Station. She drove home from there, now you are home Carol is working on the checkbook and you are ready to relax. – Amorella

         1947 hour. I sent a note of thanks to Nikola at BookBaby. These people are very comfortable to work with. I am so glad I chose their company. I was sent another proof of the cover and it is so good I asked to take out the smaller “GMG I” centered at the bottom because it is now redundant. I will post the final proof when I receive it sometime next week. Nikola says that I will have another chance to okay everything (or not) when everything is completed. So far I am very pleased with this company.

         You need to look over the free material that relates to publicizing the book. – Amorella

         I didn’t publicize the iUniverse books. I didn’t publicize the blog except to say I have one on Linked In and Facebook. I will look it over but I feel somewhat uncomfortable doing so. (2000)

         Why?

         2000 hours. I think it might go to my head and I’ll get a rush on trying to sell the book. There’s a thin line Amorella and I am afraid I might be tempted. I like the way the iUniverse books sold. I did not make money but it was fun to have the books and giving a talk at the Mason Library about writing and so forth.  Writing stays fun. Making it business-like will take away the fun. That is my concern. I’ll read it though and see. I can’t say at present.

         I didn’t say you even have to read it orndorff. You need to look it over. – Amorella

         2008 hours. I will Amorella.

         Good. Post. - Amorella

         2119 hours. I read over the free “Book Promo” from BookBaby. It is sad that one has to hustle her or his books but such is the world if money or fame for survival is the issue. I have no illusions over this aspect of book selling. I understand its purpose and I am sure it helps some people sell their books. One point brought out is that very few ebook authors sell more than one hundred copies of their books. That sounds about right. I doubt I sold that many total for the three Merlyn books at iUniverse. I cannot imagine it would pay most people to pay others to hustle their ebook for them. I am not about to beg someone to read and review my book for Amazon or anyone else. I did read of one company that brings authors together online so you can find someone to write a review of your book while you read his or her book and also writes a review for her or him. This sounds fair in a sense but there is a kind of collusion in that each would expect the other to be obligated to write a favorable review. Somehow it doesn’t sound cricket. What do you think, Amorella.

         This is like being young and searching for your first job with no experience or background. You do have background and experience. You have a base of interested people. My suggestion is to go along without this form of publicity. As you have mentioned writing the book on Linked In and Facebook use those resources to announce the publication of the ebook when it happens. Say at that time that you welcome reviews on Amazon and iBook in particular. Then let it go. No one has an obligation and certainly no one has an obligation to write an honest review but that you would hope it would be honest be it a positive or negative review and thank those reading for their interest. As for a book blurb – we can work one up. You like the commentary I give at the beginning of the book. Drop it in here. We can work with it tomorrow. Add and post. – Amorella

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           This is Amorella, Richard’s inner guide and collaborator. This work is a fiction but the words are as honest as if the author were swearing. What makes this truly a ghost story is that it is being set down as if an Angel were asking Richard, who is among the recent Dead, to tell his story. I take the part of the Angel. Richard is his ghost, his human spirit. The words come from where they would come from if he were physically dead and is left only with heart, soul, mind and memory. Richard decides to take Merlyn’s role and to show who he is by his reason, memory, imagination and dreams. Dead, he looks directly through the Angel (myself) saying, “What else is a dead person but memories and dreams? I’d rather begin with my dreams while they are still fresh.”

            If you like you can pretend to be an Angel like me and listen along for the authenticity. One day perhaps you will be telling your own memories and dreams to an Angel too. You know your memories, but what will your dreams be?

From Intro to ebook GMG.1
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