J'écris mon premier roman

If you're sitting on the fence about writing and publishing a book to Kindle, this article should give you the kick in the pants you need.

The author lays out six easy steps to format your book and get it up there for sale already! Keep in mind this may not work for those who have bullet points, tables, and special formatting. This tutorial works magic for straight typed text.

To sum up:

1) Type it clean

2) Insert page breaks

3) Apply Styles

4) Create your Table of Contents (TOC)

5) Convert to MOBI/EPUB

6) Upload!

You may have to do a bit of tweaking once it is uploaded, but Amazon allows you to see how the finished product will look before you hit that "Publish" button.

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

Link to the full article:  http://ultimatebookcoach.com/how-to-format-your-book-for-kindle-using-microsoft-word-in-6-easy-steps/

Aspiring authors--you have now run out of excuses not to self-publish! Picture yourself as a worldwide published author once you follow these 10 simple, visual, step-by-step directions for getting your book converted to digital format and published on Amazon.

Amazon accepts the following formats:

o Word (DOC and DOCX)

o HTML

o ePub

o Text

o PDF

The hardest part, as we all know, is writing great content and spending the time making sure the material is engaging and error free. Amazon will even show you how many possible errors are in the book once it is uploaded.

Now get publishing!

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

 Link to the full article: http://readwrite.com/2013/07/22/10-simple-steps-to-self-publishing-your-book-on-amazon#awesm=

What is your purpose for writing a book to put out on the Kindle marketplace? Do you love writing? Do you have something that burns within you that you just have to share with the world? Visions of riches? As Jonathan so deftly describes in his article, it could be all this but so much more.

What is the single biggest advantage of having a Kindle book under your belt? It is an "EVERGREEN" product! Your books will never go out of print and will keep on selling FOREVER. That should excite the britches off of you. *No pun intended* ;)

Authors--Keep writing, keep putting out new books, keep finding new fans. The opportunity for writers has never been greater!

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

Link to the full article: http://bestsellerlabs.com/why-your-amazon-kindle-book-will-be-far-bigger-than-you-imagine/

Writing and publishing an ebook in four easy steps? Too good to be true, but at least these will get you started, if you are still sitting on the fence about it. Here are the four:

STEP 1: Identify your AUDIENCE - If you could sell your book to just one person, who would that person be? Make a list of their attributes.

STEP 2:  RESEARCH the gaps - What do readers wish the books in this marketplace would also include?

STEP 3: WRITE! - There's nothing to sell if you don't have a book!

STEP 4: PRODUCTION: eBook editing, design and programming - Hire a professional to help you if you have the funds to do so.

Writing and publishing to Kindle is not a "get rich" quick scheme. If you make it your job every day, then put in the work necessary to make it a success.

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

Read the rest of this article on The Future of Ink:  http://thefutureofink.com/four-crucial-steps-to-writing-and-publishing-your-first-ebook/

Pictures! Pictures! With the advent of Pinterest, we can't get enough of them. One picture can quickly sum up a message, and is more powerful than a thousand words.

Writers pining to be successful Kindle authors should pick up some great clues as to what genre to focus on. Here are some conclusions:

CONTENT

--------------

o Approximately 375 pages to a bestseller

o Men want to read about men heroes, but

o Woman heroes will likely become the bestseller

GENRE

-----------

o Women love Romance novels. Surprised?

o Men like history

o Top grossing fiction is literature

READERS

---------------

o There are 12x more books sold at .99

o Those under 40 read faster than those over 40

o The longer the book, the less likely readers are to finish

*****This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"*****

Link to the infographic: http://visual.ly/dna-successful-book

Self-publishing now considered nouveau? That is almost laughable, considering it wasn't that long ago indies were relegated to the dark alleys of the publishing world. If you did self-publish, you wouldn't dare tell anyone. Heaven forbid!

Self-publishing stars are now raking in seven figure deals! Now we have options. If you don't want to field rejection after rejection, and have your fragile author's ego stomped upon, then self-publish and feel out the territory. Find your readers. You can always go back to the traditional publishers--if that is your desire. You now have a choice.

If you are a hardworking author, you can feasibly take a book from draft through editing and design to quality publication in three to six months—far faster than the year or more required by traditional publishers. Speed-to-market can have an enormous impact on sales, particularly for books with seasonal or topical appeal.

Authors, it's now up to you. Which door will you choose?

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

Link to the full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/self-publishers-authors_n_2909998.html

I'm always searching out ways to increase my productivity, especially when it comes to my writing. When I hear the praises of writing software "Scrivener" being sung by authors the world over, I am going to sit up and pay attention.  After all, it was created with novelists in mind. It works with the messy author's brain. As you think, you can create.

I purchased the software when it was on special at Amazon, and I am truly making an attempt to learn it; at least the basics enough to get started. This author gives one of the best synopsis I have seen, to help you decide if you want to make the switch from Word.

***This review was written by Penelope Silvers for her curated content on "Writing for Kindle"***

Link to the full article: http://authorculture.blogspot.com/2013/02/guest-post-is-scrivener-right-for-you.html