To Kindle or not to Kindle ... that is the question.
I say bugger it. Kindle away - once you can figure out how.
As many of you may know, I'm a first time author, lucky enough to be wrapped in the warm arms of a safe and ever present publisher to guide my way. But, naturally, being the stubborn woman that I am, I figured I didn't need a hug while circumventing the mystery that is the E-book.
Okay, stop laughing. I know many of you have been reading E-books for years, mostly because of convenience and in some instances, the variance in price between paperback and digital format.
Finally, this little hobbit has joined the revolution. I've always thought that sniffing the pages of an old book and feeling the paper between my fingers was what reading was all about. But, as I slip into bed at night with my phone, holding it with what I might add as 'one hand', and not needing a night light to see the text, I find myself questioning what the hell I was waiting for?
The Hunted was originally printed in paperback, the safe and most easily recognised form of distribution. And, I have been happy with this until now, knowing that a vast majority of the planet has joined the digital revolution, and as such, I have put my head down and my bum up to revise my tactics.
Research was my first portal. I was sucked into hours of fine print, scouring every digital media site in the hopes of finding a host for my book as an E-book file. I finally settled on Kindle Direct Publishing for a couple of reasons. One, the profit margin is good. Two, they offer the best form of digital protection for your books to avoid unpaid sharing. Three, the process is relatively simple to set up - if you're not a total jackass like me, scream and cry all over the keyboard because you have super high expectations of presentation.
Anyway, after figuring out MS Word styling, converting my document into HTML, and reading the entire book from start to finish to make sure all type-facing was correct, I tried uploading. This is fine if you are keeping your headings simplistic. Naturally, I have to be different.
So, with Mobipocket now downloaded, I've imported my HTML file, inserted all the text pictures into my document, and I've created a PRC file which allows fancy headings etc to be uploaded to Kindle with minimum fuss.
Alas, four wasted hours of tantrum chucking and crying, three days to read and review, half an hour to upload and check for imperfections and boom - it's done.
Then I find out I suck because I'm an Aussie!
Kindle Direct Publishing pay directly into US bank accounts of via check. I don't have a US account, nor can I open a cool Swiss bank account like they do in the movies because it doesn't make an ass bit of difference when requiring a 'routing number'. So what do I do? I go for the 'check' option, knowing that I have to wait three months to get it, suffer conversion rates, and then wait for my Australian bank to re-submit the cheque back to the US for release before the funds are cleanly deposited into my account. PS - Thank you IRS for the 30% tax deduction I will also receive upon money leaving the country.
Nice.
BUT ... Despite these few minor set backs, I am exceptionally happy with the quality of the upload. My fee breakdown is more than reasonable and Amazon have been excellent at answering any queries I may have.
I am going to be one happy camper - especially if you buy a copy or at least click on the link below and 'like' it.
Yep, that was not a hint. I am about as subtle as a brick to the face ;P
Kristy :)
(The Hunted Kindle Link)
