Is Your Dog Or Cat Gay? 

Do you know?

I did a post a few weeks ago about the haters. Much to my surprise it did not solve the world’s problems. So I started thinking about these issues again.

What issues? You ask.

Prejudice against people of color, against different religions, and against people of a different sexual persuasion. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Let’s take color as an example.

Whites don’t actually hate the color black. I know because I see lots of whites wearing black clothes and driving black cars. And the lack of hate isn’t reserved for inanimate objects either. Whites have no problem owning black dogs. Black people don’t mind owning brown dogs. And plenty of brown people own gray or white dogs. In fact, the color of a dog or cat or any animal doesn’t ever seem to come into play. People love their animals no matter what color they are.

So why does it matter with people? 

I don’t have the answer to that.

And let’s take a look at religion. I’ve seen people who were friends with someone right up until the time they discovered which religion the friend practiced. But we’re safe with animals because we have no way of knowing their beliefs. I know that most of you will scoff and think, animals don’t have religious beliefs, but I might argue that point. I’m quite certain our horse follows the teachings of Buddha. I do not, however, hold it against him. 

That brings us to the big one—sexual preference. Men, in particular, seem to have a difficult time accepting another male who is gay. I have read articles where parents worried themselves to death wondering ‘what if my child is gay?’ But do they ever wonder, ‘what if my dog is gay?’ In light of that I have to pose the question…

What If My Dog Is Gay?

This might be a ridiculous question, but imagine for a minute it isn’t. We have enough animals on our sanctuary for long-term observation, and I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I think a few of our animals have different persuasions than others. But don’t take my word for it, look at the picture of Angel and Morgan. I also have strong reason to believe that Mollie, our boxer mix, is gay. She hasn’t come out yet, but I have my suspicions.

What should I do about it?

Night of Destruction

• Should I hate her?
• Should I turn her out and not let her sleep with the other dogs?
• Should I stop petting her?

Or…

• Should I continue loving her because she’s so sweet and kind?
• Should I admire her because she is such a good dog?
• Should I reward her because she never does anything wrong? (I have stretched the truth on this one.)

What Do You Think?

Because You Left Me Alone

I’d like to know.

On second thought, forget about it. I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided to love her. She’s a damn good girl.

ciao, and thanks for stopping by,

Giacomo

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: Animal Sanctuary, Life Lessons, Pigs Who Write, Uncategorized by Giacomo
No Comments »

Why Indie Authors Fail

I’m not saying indie authors aren’t making it; in fact, some of them are doing amazingly well. Every day it seems as if another success story is in the news, not to mention that indie authors have staked permanent spots on the bestseller lists. It has taken a few years, but the stigma once associated with being an independent author is quickly disappearing. Despite that newfound success and acceptance, tens of thousands of indies can’t sell more than a handful of books.

Why Is That?

Visibility, of course, is one huge reason. If readers can’t find your books, they obviously can’t read them. But let’s talk about the books that readers do find…and then decide not to continue reading that author’s other books. Why does a reader stop?

Is it plot?

You might have the best, most complex plot in the world, but not every reader will agree. Some will love it and others might think it’s bad.

Is it your characters?

Your characters might be real, deep, bursting with emotion, but some people might despise them and think they’re one dimensional.

No matter what you do, no matter how good your storytelling, or how clever your point of view, or how pitch perfect your dialogue—you will encounter readers who disagree with all of it. They’ll become bored with your storytelling, claim your POV is distracting, and your dialogue is off. But there is one thing that everyone agrees on, and there can be no disagreement.

Mistakes

Readers cannot disagree on mistakes. It’s not a subjective decision. It either is or isn’t a mistake.

• If a word is misspelled, it’s a mistake. 
• If a word is used wrong, it’s a mistake. 
• If words are repeated, it’s a mistake. 
• If words are missing, it’s a mistake. 

Mistakes are the one thing that readers can, and do, agree on. Not all of them will trash a book because of a few mistakes, but many readers will. Here are a few comments taken from reviews I found on the Internet.

“I purchased this book based on the number of 5 star reviews. They must have been relatives because this book was riddled with errors. It’s the last book I’ll read by this author.”

“Had a good plot, but the mistakes distracted me so much I couldn’t enjoy it. I stopped halfway through.”

These were two out of thousands. But neither one of these readers will be buying books from those authors again. That’s a steep price to pay. It’s difficult to attract a new reader. The last thing you want to do is lose them over a few mistakes.

Why Do Indie Authors Fail—Mistakes

You can’t control what readers think of your plot—some will love it and some hate it. You can’t control what they think of your storytelling or characters, or anything else—except mistakes.

They are the one thing that is universal. If your book is riddled with mistakes…well, it’s riddled with mistakes. There is no other way to say it. Out of all the problems that can be found in books—character development, storyline, dialogue, plot, setting, prose—mistakes takes the crown as the number one complaint from readers about independently published books. And the most amazing thing, is that mistakes are easy to fix. It’s tough to redo a plot, or completely restructure a character, but mistakes are easy.

Bottom Line

Work hard at producing a mistake-free book. Hire editors and proofreaders, edit backwards, go to universities, join critique groups, find beta readers, sell your children…do whatever it takes—but get rid of the mistakes. And if some slip through anyway? People will tell you. When they tell you, pull the book down and fix it.

Remember, there are two ways to do things—the right way and the wrong way. You decide.

Ciao, and thanks for stopping by,

Giacomo

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: books, bookselling, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing by Giacomo
No Comments »

Dennis, the Great & Wonderful

Sanctuary News

It’s me, Dennis. By now ya’ll should know that if I’m doing the post it’s either because there is something funny to tell, or, sad news. Unfortunately, today it’s sad news. We lost one of our own last week. Her name was Pearl. She arrived at the sanctuary long before I did, so I’m going to have to let Giacomo tell you about her.

Pearl

Pearl came to us when she was about five years old. She was big for a potbelly, and we soon discovered she was more than a little feisty. All pigs get quarantined when they come here so the vet can check them out and perform tests to ensure they aren’t carrying diseases. With Pearl, that would have been a necessity regardless; she tried biting anyone who came near her. It took my wife, Mikki, two weeks just to be able to sit with Pearl while she ate. But Mikki had to play by Pearl’s rules—no petting allowed.

Mikki tried every day for almost a month, and she did make headway, but not much, and not in the petting department. My wife loves to spoil her animals—pet them, groom them, make sure their hooves, or nails are trimmed…you get the picture. She is amazingly good with animals, but Pearl was not an easy conquest.

It Wasn’t Just People

We soon discovered that Pearl didn’t enjoy anyone’s company. After receiving the vet’s okay, we released her into the area with the other pigs. It only took her fifteen minutes to pick a fight, and it was a doozy, requiring three of us to break it up. We built a separate pen (about 1/8th of an acre) and restricted her to that while Mikki tried to acclimate Pearl to the sanctuary.

During her third week in isolation, another new pig arrived, and she was put into the quarantine area. That night, Pearl broke through the fence that held her in, went to the quarantine area, and broke through that fence to start a fight. It took us an hour to get her back in her pen.

It was two years before Mikki had Pearl calmed enough to release her into the main area and socialize with the other pigs. Pearl didn’t fight with them, but she was far from friendly. She ate by herself, slept in a section of the barn by herself, and walked around with an attitude that dared any of the other animals to cross her. The dogs were terrified.

Middle Age

Five more years passed. Pearl mellowed some. She occasionally socialized with other pigs, and she didn’t try to attack the dogs when they walked by, but she still ate alone, and worst of all—at least for Mikki—still no pets allowed.

But Mikki never gave up hope. A few times a week she would take treats out to Pearl and sit in the grass with her. Pearl got to the point of taking food from her hands, but she wouldn’t tolerate petting, and she definitely wouldn’t allow any grooming.

Petey

Nurse Petey

A couple of years ago Pearl began limping, and she seemed to have slowed down. This happened shortly after one of the other pigs died, and within a few weeks, Nurse Petey moved in with Pearl. It shocked us all when she allowed him inside her section of the barn.

When Petey moved in we knew Pearl was sick. It’s unexplainable, but Petey knows before anybody, even the vets. And once he takes on a patient, he sticks with it.

After that day, Petey and Pearl were inseparable. He walked with her everywhere, and the two of them slept together every night. The past few months Pearl declined rapidly. We thought of calling the vet, but then she found new life somewhere and began acting like her old self, though not as mean.

A Long Goodbye

Pearl

Last week, when Mikki went to feed them, Pearl didn’t come. Neither did Petey. She found them lying next to each other in the hay near the horse’s barn. Petey went to eat once Mikki arrived, but Pearl wouldn’t get up, which was a sure sign of something serious. She even let Mikki pet her.

We arranged for the vet to come out the next day. Early in the morning, Mikki cut up a cantaloupe (Pearl’s favorite food) and placed some grapes in a cup, and took them out for Pearl. She nibbled on a few pieces, but not with any enthusiasm. And then she stood up and limped over to Mikki—and lay her head in Mikki’s lap. And she let Mikki pet her for hours.

It was a magical moment.

My first thought was that it was so nice that Mikki was there to comfort Pearl as she made her transition. But that night, while I lay in bed something else occurred to me. Maybe Pearl wasn’t looking for comfort; she’d been a loner all her life. Maybe—just maybe—this was Pearl’s way of saying thanks, and offering comfort to Mikki.

If that was Pearl’s intention, it worked. That one show of affection made the previous twelve years worth it.

PS: Pearl was 17 years old.

Ciao, and thanks for stopping by,

Giacomo

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: Animal Sanctuary, Life Lessons, Pigs Who Write, Uncategorized by Giacomo
2 Comments »

Dennis

Do You Need Someone To Hate?

I don’t understand all of the hatred and vitriol in the world today. It seems like you can’t read the news or turn on the TV without seeing an example of hate crimes and prejudice. Whites hating blacks, blacks hating whites, Christians hating Muslims, Muslims hating Jews, straights hating gays…the lists go on and on.

When I say I don’t understand this, I mean it. I truly, truly don’t.

How can you hate someone based on color?

I grew up with a lot of Italians. By late summer, many of them were darker than black people I knew. Did we hate them for it? Of course not.

How can you hate someone because of their religion?

My mother was Methodist; we were Catholic. My wife is Episcopalian, my daughter Jewish, one son is Buddhist, and the other agnostic. Do I hate any of them? Of course not.

How can you hate someone based on sexual preferences?

I doubt there is a family (or at least an extended family) in this country who doesn’t have at least one gay person. Maybe you don’t know it, but it’s probably true. Would you hate them if you knew? I hope not.

If you are one of the haters, and if you have an explanation, please share it with us. If you can’t cite a reason, I have to assume that you want to hate. But if you want to hate, really want to, I can give you so many better people and things to hate.

Who Should You Hate

Hate the woman who paid to have her daughter raped by multiple men.

Hate the people in this video on pig abuse—if you can bear to watch it.

Hate the boys from Steubenville, OH, who raped the girl and took videos of it.

Hate the men who poisoned 87 elephants so they could get ivory.

Hate the drug dealers who poison so many of our children.

Hate the child pornographers, who we somehow can’t seem to catch.

Hate the thousands of senseless acts of violence that occur every single day.

And finally, when you run out of people to hate—then you can hate the haters. There are plenty of them.

Bottom Line

I’ve given you plenty of reasons to hate. You don’t need to hate someone because they’re black or brown, or Jew or Muslim or Christian, or gay or lesbian or straight, or anything else. Hate someone for their actions not their color, or religion, or life preferences.

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: Animal Sanctuary, Family, Life Lessons, Uncategorized by Giacomo
2 Comments »

Smashwords Levels The Playing Field With Pre-orders

Smashwords continues to offer authors more tools to help them compete with the big publishers. Pre-orders have long been inaccessible to indies. We’ve been forced to sit on the sidelines and watch with envy while traditional publishers touted their up-and-coming releases. If you’ve ever wondered how to sell more books, that option is now available through Smashwords and it’s easy to take advantage of.

Most of you are probably thinking—I have no time for pre-orders. By the time my book is ready, I want it up. I understand that, but this is a case where you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Think About This

What happens when you launch a new book? Are you organized? Do all of your followers rush out to buy it, or just a few? If you’re like me, and about a million other indies, it’s just a few, followed by a trickle of sales over the course of the next couple of weeks. In order to obtain a boost in sales ranking, some authors beg readers to buy their books on a certain day, even down to a specific time, hoping to get that boost. I am loath to do such things. My readers are special. I’m thrilled if they buy my books, and I’m certainly not going to ask them to buy at a certain time or from a certain retailer. So while I would enjoy a boost up the charts, I’m not about to resort to these tactics.

This is why I like the pre-order option. It does everything I’m looking for, and more. But the thing I like most about this option is it makes purchasing a new book easy for the reader. That’s what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned.

But I Still Want To Launch My Book Now

Okay, I understand. But how many of you are truly prepared for a launch?

• Is everything ready on launch day?
• Do you have your email campaign ready?
• Have bloggers lined up, ready to post interviews of your book?
• Did you arrange for guest posts and/or interviews with some of the big blogger sites?
• Are your tweets written, and scheduled? And do you have the key influencers on Twitter signed on to help push your book?
• Facebook posts prepared?
• How about Google+ and/or Pinterest?
• Ads placed and coordinated?

If you’re like me, the answer is a resounding no. I’m lucky if I get the book listed at all the retail channels on the same day.

This, to me, might be the biggest benefit of pre-orders. Being able to put my book on pre-order will allow me time to prepare properly.

Pre-orders will let you…

• Announce to the subscribers on your newsletter that the book is coming soon, and they can order it at their convenience.
• Build interest through social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+.
• Arrange for early readers to post their reviews once the book goes live.
• Line up bloggers willing to review your book, or do an interview with you, or a guest post.
• Allow you time to run giveaways or contests, all with links to the pre-order page, of course.
• Allow pre-order customers to purchase the book at a reduced price as an incentive.

Slideshare

Here is the Slideshare from Smashwords’s site.

The following is from the article Mark Coker posted:

The presentation provides an introduction to ebook preorders, and then reveals specific recommendations for preorder timing and preorder marketing. Most of these ideas were inspired by my observations of what worked and what didn’t work for your fellow Smashwords authors.

There are several points Mark Coker makes about the advantages of using pre-orders that are irrefutable. Let’s look at a few of them.

• Advance listing at major retailers.
• Allows readers to reserve a copy in advance, and credit card isn’t charged until release date.
• Capture readers’ interest on the spot.
• Pre-orders record all at once on Apple and Kobo, allowing for the chance of a boost in rankings.

Even if no one buys your book while it’s offered for pre-order, you still had an extra two weeks of exposure that you wouldn’t have had without it. In the book business, exposure is what it’s all about. When I evaluate a tool or a service, the first thing I ask myself is,

Can this help me?

Assuming it can, then I ask,

Are there any drawbacks? In other words, can it hurt me?

In this case the answer is no it can’t hurt me. So I’m planning on setting up my next book for a pre-order. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, as I recently finished No Mistakes Interviews, the second book in my career series.

I’m sure Smashwords has a lot of examples on their site of how to do this, and what steps you can take to make it easier. I know several indies have already been successful using the pre-order strategy.

This is the thing I like most about Smashwords. Mark Coker is continually improving, and even more so, everything he does is in the best interest of the author. Remember, out of all the distributors out there vying for your service, to my knowledge, Smashwords is the only one that relies 100% on you, the indie author, for their success. In other words, if you aren’t successful, Smashwords isn’t successful. If you don’t make money, they don’t make money.

That gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my gut.

If You Enjoyed This Post Please Share It.

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of:
Career advice books and Gritty crime novels
He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: book promotion, books, bookselling, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing by Giacomo
2 Comments »

Giacomo & Slick

Status Update on Mystery Books

I had promised to have the sequel to A Bullet For Carlos out by now, and I don’t. Sometimes writing doesn’t go as planned. I had one book last year that really messed up my timing, and it delayed everything. I am pleased to say that I finished A Bullet From Dominic last week. I need to do a once-over read/edit on it, and then I’ll be sending it out to beta readers. So…
if you want to be a beta reader let me know. A couple of things you should know before saying yes.

• I need this done quickly, and by that I mean within 2 weeks of receiving the book.
• I need real feedback. I don’t want a “love it” or “great” response. Think of it as if it were visiting the cardiologist. If your arteries are 90% clogged, you wouldn’t want the doctor telling you things were fine. As much as it might hurt, you would need to hear the truth. The same applies here. If my book needs major surgery, I want to know about it before it gets published.
• If you agree to beta read, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave a review when the book goes live.
• You will, of course, be mentioned in the acknowledgements.
• You will receive a free digital copy when the book is live.

Now that I’ve gotten that over with, here’s the first chapter.

A Bullet From Dominic

Chapter 1 — Home At Last

Brooklyn, New York
I crawled out of bed, reluctant to start another day. It had been six months since the incident in Texas, and I still couldn’t take five breaths without thinking about it. Or asking God why it happened to me. All my life I’d tried doing the right thing, going out of my way and putting myself through hell just to make sure I didn’t end up on the same side of the law as Uncle Dominic.

And what did I get in return?

I got “the incident.” That’s what I called it. Too afraid to speak, or even think, the word out loud.

I put the pot on the stove so I could get my daily shot of espresso. While I waited for the water to boil, I got down on the floor and did a few dozen push-ups and then stretched my legs.

Rape, Gianelli. Spit it out. That’s what it was. I cracked my knuckles, did a few back bends, then closed my eyes and worked the kinks out of my neck. Whoever was talking inside my head was right. It was rape. And my only consolation was that Tip had killed the son of a bitch on the spot—five shots to the chest.

I turned just as the water boiled, grabbed the pot and poured a cup of espresso. Somehow I had inherited the genes from Uncle Dominic to sense when a pot of espresso was ready. The odd thing was, I had gotten the genes even though he wasn’t really my uncle.

I spoiled myself with a few melon balls while I sipped the espresso and wondered what the wise psychiatrist would try to find wrong with me today. It wasn’t enough that I had damn near been killed twice in a matter of two months, and that my ribs were broken, jaw smashed, and I was raped. He seemed intent on finding some deep-seated reason for my depression. I guess what happened to me wasn’t enough. Psychiatrists always seemed to need a deep-seated reason.

As I thought about that I made up my mind. I wouldn’t be meeting with Dr. Nutbag today. Uncle Dominic probably had better advice. I cleaned the dishes, dressed and headed out. Before long I was crossing the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx. Uncle Dominic’s house was minutes away.

I parked at the end of the street and went through the ritual of entering Mr. Gallo’s house and making my way through Dominic’s secret tunnel. It had been six months since I’d been on the job, and it was looking doubtful if I’d ever go back, but there was no sense in taking chances, so I kept up the ruse of non-association where Uncle Dominic was concerned. I felt sure the Feds were still watching him, and anyone who associated with him.

I came up the steps into his kitchen, the half-man, half-tiger known as Fabrizio having led the way. I didn’t want to like Fabrizio, knowing what he did, but he was so damn sexy and so…feral…that no matter how hard I tried, I found myself moving closer to him at every chance. To top it off, he was polite and charming. Oh, and a hit-man, I felt sure. Just what I needed in my life. Dr. Nutbag would have fun with that.

“Buon giorno, Zio Domenico.”

One of Dominic’s famous smiles popped onto his face. He squeezed me and patted my back. If I still had my chubby cheeks he’d have pinched them, but—thankfully—the chubby-cheek days were long gone.

“Concetta, you look fantastic. I’ll put espresso on.”

I laughed. No matter what happened—good, bad or indifferent—in Uncle Dominic’s house it was cause to put espresso on the stove.

“Thanks, Uncle Dominic, but I just had some.”

“Then I’ll make some for me. How can we have a discussion without espresso?” He prepared the pot and started grinding the beans. After the whirr of the grinder stopped, he scooped coffee into the pot. “What brings my favorite person on earth to see me?”

I looked to the side, where Fabrizio stood. He took the hint, and left. Dominic waited until he was gone, then asked again.
“What brings you? Troubles?”

I didn’t know where to start, or how. I never was good at talking to people about my problems. When I got the nerve to speak, I avoided Uncle Dominic’s probing gaze. “It’s been six months and I still…”

“You still are ashamed,” Dominic said.

His words stung. “I’m not ashamed.”

Dominic reached for a biscotto and took a bite. “Yes you are. You don’t want to admit it, but you blame yourself for what happened.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Uncle Dominic set the biscotto down and sipped his espresso. “Yes, it’s bullshit. I’m glad you see that. But it’s also what you’re doing to yourself, and the sooner you admit that, the sooner you’ll get better.”

I wiped a tear away before he saw it. “Why did this happen to me, Uncle Dominic? I try so hard to do the right thing…Why?”

Uncle Dominic set his cup down, and pushed it to the side. He reached across the table and pulled my hand toward him.
He rubbed the rough knuckles, and toughened skin. Then he leaned close to me and looked me in the eyes.

“Sometimes God makes good people suffer—like you and your mother—and He lets people like me have a smooth ride. I think He is preparing you for heaven, and He tricks fools like me into thinking we got away with something.”

I thought I saw tears in his eyes, but he must have willed them to stop. “If anything, Concetta, you’re the lucky one. When something bad happens to you on earth, think of it as one less day you’ll have to spend in purgatory.”

What he said shocked me. “I didn’t know you were so religious.”

He let go of my hand and leaned back in his chair. “You didn’t know my father, Concetta. He was not a good man. He wasn’t even a nice man. But he told me one thing I remember. He said, ‘A criminal never worries about getting caught until he hears the sirens.’”

Dominic nodded his head, as if he were considering this bit of wisdom, and not for the first time. “I’m getting old, and I can hear the sirens off in the distance.”

“Then quit! Quit before they catch you.”

Dominic laughed. He reached over and pinched my cheeks, like he did when I was a little girl. “My dear sweet Concetta, I’m not talking about the police. And I don’t think I can hide from these sirens.”

He cleaned the table and rinsed the dishes in the sink. “You should go back to Texas,” he said. “You have a clean reputation and you have a good friend. There’s not much more to ask for.”

“I don’t know, Uncle Dominic.”

“Think about it,” he said. “It would be good for you.”

I grabbed a dish towel and dried the dishes.

After a moment of silence, he kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll finish. You go home and pack.”

“I haven’t said I’m going.”

“You will. You always make the right decisions.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Dominic turned to me. “One thing to remember, leave the drugs alone.”

“What are you saying, Uncle Dominic?”

“I mean Carlos Cortes. When you get to Texas, stay away from him. Those people have no respect. They will kill a neighbor just to make a point. They will even kill children.” Dominic wagged his finger at me, like he always did. “They will do anything to frighten people into cooperating. They don’t play by the same rules.”

“I know all about El Jabato. I’ve seen firsthand what he’s capable of.”

“Good, then it’s settled. You’ll stay away from him.”

I almost got pissed, but laughed instead. I got up and hugged him. “Uncle Dominic, I love you.”

He rubbed the back of my head, and said, “Ti voglio bene.”

I grabbed his espresso pot and took it to the sink to wash.

“Leave it,” Dominic said. “I’ll be making more soon. Now do what I said. Go home and pack.”

I laughed, kissed his cheek, and then grabbed my purse. “We’ll see.”

Dominic waited until he heard the door close in the basement, and then he hit the button on the intercom system. “Fabrizio.”

Fabrizio came to the kitchen a few seconds later. “Si, signore.”

“I want you to find out who owes us favors in Texas, especially in Houston. We need someone to keep an eye on Concetta.”

“Is she going to Houston?” Fabrizio asked.

Dominic nodded. “She doesn’t realize it yet, but she will.”

Other News

I hope you liked the sample. I think it’s going to be a good one, and if you liked Bullet For Carlos, you’ll probably like this one.

On another front, for those of you who read my non-fiction books, No Mistakes Interviews will be released in about 2 weeks. It’s the second in the No Mistakes Careers Series.

Lastly, I have just finished a rough draft of Murder Takes Patience, book three in the friendship & honor series, with Nicky and Frankie. I’ve got a few plot problems to work out, but as soon as I figure them out, I’ll be getting it ready for beta readers. I should have a sample chapter up in the next 2 weeks.

Thanks for your patience while I worked through these issues. As most of you know, I can’t stand to release something with problems, so if it’s a question of delaying a book or putting it out with errors or plot problems, there is no decision.

By the way, Murder Has Consequences will be on sale for 99c all this week, starting about noon today. I’ve included the links here:

Amazon eBook | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo | Google |

ciao,

Giacomo

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of:
No Mistakes Resumes
Murder Takes Time
Murder Has Consequences
A Bullet For Carlos
Finding Family

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: books, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing by Giacomo
No Comments »

How To Cook A Character

Characters form the basis for all good writing. It doesn’t matter how good your storytelling is, or how intricate and complex the plot, if you don’t have great characters your novel won’t shine. I have come to realize that character development is very similar to cooking, especially cooking red sauce.

Red Sauce

In an Italian household there is nothing more precious than the recipe for the red sauce/gravy. It forms the basis for a large percentage of meals and is usually the only thing that most people in the family agree upon.

Fahgettaboutit! Mamma’s sauce is the best. Bar none.

Nothing will start an argument quicker than comparing anyone else’s sauce to the family recipe. Now that you know that—if you already didn’t, it will come as no surprise to know that there is a process for making the sauce that is strictly adhered to. In our family that process has been followed without variation for generations. My two older brothers and I never showed much interest in cooking, although in defense of myself, I was married at 17, and as a teenager there is only one thing you’re interested in which is why I got married. My sister and two younger brothers were young when my father died, so the only one he taught his secrets to was my wife, and she followed the recipe to the smallest detail.

The Process

My oldest son is a fantastic cook, but he can’t get his lasagna to come out the exact same way my wife’s does. He swears she doesn’t give him the complete recipe, and that she secretly puts other things in the sauce while he’s not looking. I wanted to tell you what she does to the sauce, but she is standing behind me with a knife to my throat.

Side note: There is a saying in the animal kingdom that nothing is more dangerous than a wild pig protecting its babies. We have wild pigs, so I know what I’m talking about here, and nothing is more dangerous than an Italian woman protecting her sauce recipe.

The recipe for red sauce and the process it goes through is more stringent than the process pharmaceutical companies use to make drugs. If you’re familiar with the formulation of drugs, you know that the process is more magic than science. Just because something works when you make it in a 2-liter batch doesn’t mean it will work when you make it in a 200-liter batch. Even though you scaled up the ingredients perfectly. The same goes for red sauce.

Making a meal for a family of four is one thing; cooking up 15 pounds of meatballs and huge pots of sauce for 25 or 30 is something else entirely. It takes a combination of skills that have been honed to perfection, and the two most important are chef and taster. In our home, my wife is the chef. I am the taster.

I am not, and have never been, a chef. I can barely cook toast. But I am a great taster. I can sample a spoonful of sauce and tell you what’s needed. More cheese. More garlic. A pinch of sugar. A few more onions. A dash of xxxx.

Mamma’s famous lasagna

The Lasagna

My son Jimmy, has taken over the reins of much of the family get togethers, but there is one he hasn’t mastered yet—Mikki’s lasagna. It is, by all accounts, the best lasagna I have ever tasted. I have had guests say it. I have had friends, and even non friends. My brother’s ex-wife insisted on being able to come for lasagna at Christmas and Easter. (It might have been part of the divorce settlement.) Her lasagna is so good I am at a loss to describe it.

Characters and Red Sauce

Great characters are like a great red sauce. You can’t just toss ingredients together and expect the sauce to taste good. By the same token, you can’t toss a bunch of characters into a book and expect them to have chemistry, or to interact in a believable manner. I experienced this firsthand with one of my books: ”A Bullet For Carlos. It’s about a Brooklyn detective who goes to Texas. I wrote that book three times before I got it right. I couldn’t get the main character, Connie Gianelli, to interact right with the characters in Texas. On the third try I decided to make her personality a combination of two people I knew, and, I switched her from third person POV to first person POV. That combination worked, and I finally had a character I loved.

Bottom Line

A great red sauce is a mixture of just the right ingredients, in the proper amounts, and cooked to perfection. If my wife were to miss one ingredient, or add two tablespoons of X instead of one, we’d know. Your characters have to be just as precise. If not, your readers will notice.

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Filed under: character development, Family, Food, Uncategorized, Writing by Giacomo
No Comments »

Book Recommendation

Since many of you are mystery, suspense, and crime readers, I thought I’d share a new author I found that I think is fantastic. I’m always looking for new authors and not much is more exciting than finding a fresh new voice. Also, just so that you’ll know, when I do reviews, I don’t describe the plot, and I don’t ever give away spoilers, I simply try to relate what I felt about the book and how the writing affected me. You can get book descriptions on the product page. So without delaying any longer, here’s my take on…

They Die Alone, by Christopher Bartley

Buy it now!

I grew up watching Bogart and Cagney films, and hiding at the top of the steps so I could watch the Untouchables, which didn’t air until past my bedtime. The Maltese Falcon is near the top of my list of all-time favorite movies. I prefaced my review with this for comparison and to let you know, I’m a picky S.O.B. when it comes to movies or books dealing with noir. If they’re not good, not authentic, it doesn’t take me long to put them down.

I picked up Christopher Bartley’s book, They Die Alone, almost expecting it to be bad, only because that’s been my experience with most author’s attempts to repeat the hard-boiled magic of a Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. Much to my surprise, and delight, Bartley delivers. He not only delivers, but he does it with such style that I’m sad I read it so fast.

Someone might make arguments that a few of the secondary characters were too “familiar.” I thought about this and I’d say no. To recreate a piece of work from this era, an author must immerse the reader in that era, and a great deal of it depends on the characters, not just the setting. The magic of what Bartley did with the characters is that he did make them familiar, and yet, he made them different enough that they surprised me. I don’t know what Bartley’s background is, but somewhere he grew up with Irish and/or Italians, because he paints them well.

Ross Duncan, the main character, is done particularly well. He’s got his own style and he’s a character I’d like to spend more time with. And Bartley’s voice and storytelling hit the right spot. To me, this is imperative if I’m going to enjoy a few hours with a book. The storytelling has to be interesting, like an old country road, with twists and turns, and a few rolling hills.

Bartley also does a magnificent job with the setting. I felt as if I were plunked down right in the middle of depression-era Chicago, rife with the aftermath of the Roaring Twenties and still reeking with the corruption at all levels of politics and law enforcement.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in the past year, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one from Bartley. Give this one a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

More Info

Since I read this book, Bartley has published a handful of other novels. I’ve started his second one, and it seems to be as good as the first. I’ll do a review of it when I finish. If you have any doubts, take a look at the reviews. This book has a whopping 4.9 average with more than 50 reviews! You don’t get that with a shoddy book. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I guarantee you, you’ll end up buying the whole series. If you want to find out more about Chris, I’ve included his information so you can stalk him.

Christopher Bartley, a pen name, is a clinical psychologist and a professor at the University of Hawaii in Hilo, Hawaii. He also directs research at The Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas. He conducts clinical trials, epidemiology, and mental health services research, mostly with prisoners and combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. He has written over 200 scientific publications, including a recent paper on military suicides, alcoholism, and psychiatric illnesses among Union Forces during the U.S. Civil War.

Twitter: @christobartley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christobartley

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Bartley/e/B00ACAR4K2

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartley_Christopher_Frueh

Giveaway

Anyone who signs up for my mailing list will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Bartley’s book, They Die Alone(gifted from Amazon).

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know if you want to see more reviews of books I’ve read.

Giacomo

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of:
No Mistakes Resumes
Murder Takes Time
Murder Has Consequences
A Bullet For Carlos
Finding Family

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: book reviews, Reading, Uncategorized by Giacomo
No Comments »

Giacomo & Slick

I have never believed in invisibility, unless you count that time when I was six-years old and saw The Invisible Man for the first time. For three days I pretended I was invisible. It was a hell of a lot of fun, until my dad—tired of playing the game—spoiled everything.

“You know I can see you,” he said. “And so can everyone else.”

Since then, invisibility hasn’t sparked much interest.

Jump Ahead 40 Years

My wife and I finally got the land we needed for our animal sanctuary. It was @15 acres nestled behind an older subdivision, and it was bordered on one side by 40 acres of woods. The back of the property sat next to an 18-acre horse farm, and the other side had almost 100 acres of woods, surrounded by single-family homes, farms, and people with property ranging from ½ an acre to 20+ acres.

It took us several years to get the biggest part of land fenced in. We did it to make sure our animals couldn’t get away, but also to protect them, as the woods is full of coyotes, not to mention wild boars.

The Sanctuary

We started out the sanctuary with only a few animals—three Australian Shepherds, and two potbelly pigs. Before long word spread. Animal Control “discovered” us somehow and whenever they had an abused or abandoned pig we got the call. The next few years our sanctuary grew to include 10 dogs and 14 pigs, and a horse. We told Animal Control there was no more room at the inn. And then people started calling. By the end of the following year, the numbers swelled to 15 dogs, 24 pigs, and a horse.

We had to start telling callers we couldn’t take any more animals. Cost was now a major factor.

Invisible Signs

Things were fine for a few months, and then the animals started coming on their own. I still haven’t figured out how they knew to come here. How they knew they’d find a couple of suckers instead of a guy with a gun wanting to shoot them, but somehow they did know. And they came. It wasn’t just dogs either.

The first one to arrive was a little bunny rabbit. We found her in the garden by the back door. She was a newborn, and must have been separated from her mother. How she knew to come here, I don’t know. My wife took her in and bottle-fed her for weeks, and then fed her by hand. She got the rabbit healthy enough and, after a few months, we released her back into the woods. It wasn’t long after that another rabbit “stopped by.” This one was obviously someone’s pet. When he wouldn’t leave my son took him in so the dogs didn’t get him.

After that, an injured deer showed up. Its leg was broken. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do for it, and it had to be put down. But why did it come to our place, with 15 dogs on the property?

I began to think that somewhere in the woods someone had posted signs with arrows pointing the way to our place. Or maybe the trails were illuminated? I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t stop with the deer.

The Hurricane

Back in 2008 we had a hurricane come through. When I went out to inspect the damage the next day, I noticed a tree had broken the fence near the back of the property. I got the chain saw and went back to fix it, but on the way I was surprised to see two new pigs. Wild ones. They had obviously come in through the hole in the fence and had decided to make themselves at home.

Two nights after that, we heard a whimpering outside the door. My wife went to investigate and found a scruffy little dog, covered in mud and his fur tangled with stickers. She brought him inside and tended to him. I thought we’d have trouble from the other dogs, but they all took to him, and he was the life of the party. We named him Kirby, and figured he was here to stay. But within two weeks Kirby left and never returned.

Cats on steps

Dennis

Things were quiet for a while and then Dennis came. This is a picture of him the day I saved him from the dogs. He had crawled in through the fence and the dogs attacked him. The vet was sure he would die, but my wife’s nursing did him right. Now he’s almost 400 pounds and the only concern is protecting the dogs from him.

It was quiet for a couple of years, with no new creatures, and then one night a feral cat showed up. She wouldn’t let us come near her, but it was obvious she intended to make this her home, as she planted herself in a corner of the barn and returned every night. About one month later, we understood why she came—five little kittens.

Drawing the Line

I told my wife we had to draw the line. No more animals of any kind.

And that very night another feral cat came by, trying desperately to make his way into the group. I didn’t have the heart to chase him away, so an exception was made.

Two nights later, my wife was calling the cats to come eat, when this showed up. The damn thing came out of the barn and walked up like it belonged. Now we have not one, but two, possums coming every night to eat on the porch. I just hope they don’t have any damn babies in the pouch.

Bottom Line

Did I ever figure out where these invisible signs are? No. I haven’t. But I’m convinced they’re out there and pointing the way to our house. One of these days I’ll find them.

Ciao, and thanks for stopping by,

Giacomo

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of:
No Mistakes Resumes
Murder Takes Time
Murder Has Consequences
A Bullet For Carlos
Finding Family

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Images are the property of TuskanyFalls.com an animal sanctuary.

Filed under: Animal Sanctuary, Life Lessons, Pigs Who Write by Giacomo
2 Comments »

eBook Distribution—Which One to Use?

Last year I wrote a post comparing the pros and cons of using Smashwords or Bookbaby for ebook distribution. At the time they were the primary contenders for independent authors who wanted to get their books distributed to multiple platforms. A lot has changed in the industry since then. We have new players, new channels, and many new features/services from the early players. I thought it was time to do an updated comparison. I did my best to verify all data, but if you see something wrong, please let me know and I’ll correct it. Also, this post is very long. My apologies.

Amazon pays 70% on books priced 2.99 – 9.99. All others are 35%. If you are not in the KDP Select program, the territories of Brazil, India, Japan, and Mexico are a maximum of 35%.

*Kobo – 70% of list price in US, CA, AUS, UK & 45% in other territories

Copia is a social media e-reading platform with an excellent following.

e-Sentral is Malaysia’s #1 online bookstore.

Flipkart is India’s largest bookseller.

Oyster and Scribd are subscription services with different requirements for what constitutes a “sale.” See this article by Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, for details of their new agreement with Scribd. Note: Bookbaby’s deal with Scribd is for purchase only. It does not allow for subscribers to Scribd to read your book.

Overdrive is not known by many authors, but it is one of the big players worldwide, and will be a major force in the next few years. They also have an app for almost every mobile and desktop platform, including PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones etc.

Additional Costs

Annual fees

BookBaby Premium is $224 with 5 books. EbookPartnership is $40 per title with 5 books. (Plus $40 per year per title after that.) With both BookBaby and ebookPartnership you can buy credits, so even if you don’t have five books now, you can purchase the credits and obtain the discount.

Changes

Bookbaby allows one change per year to price. For content changes, the prices are: Up to 10 changes in your eBook – $50 (price goes up from there)

EbookPartnership’s policy on changes is on their website, but you do have to pay to make content changes or for updating retailer listings, and uploading new files/covers, etc.

Smashwords allows unlimited changes at no charge. (This is huge.)

Other factors:

ISBNs: I strongly recommend that authors get their own ISBNs. Bowker sells them, but they are ridiculously expensive for just one. If you buy 10 at a time, the cost is $250, or $25 each. If you plan on being prolific, you can purchase 100 for $575, or $5.75 each. If you go with both print and digital editions, you’ll need two ISBNs per book, so buying them in a block of 10 gives you enough for 5 books. The downside of using one from a distributor like SW, BB, or CreateSpace is that they are then listed as the publisher of record.

The Economics

For the sake of sanity, and because there are too many possible scenarios to consider, I restricted my calculations to two scenarios.

• Using the distributors for Apple, B&N, and Kobo. (Going direct with Amazon)
• Going direct with Amazon, Apple, B&N, and Kobo, and using the distributors for all other channels.

Scenario 1

Because of the different royalty rates, the only way I saw to do this fairly was to make a table for each of the three channels. The number of books sold is displayed on the top row, and the dollars earned on the rows next to each distributor.

B&N

Apple

Kobo

Average Earnings

I averaged earnings based on market share. I used 20% total market share for B&N, 15% for Apple, and 5% for Kobo. I realize this might not reflect the worldwide market, but based on different channels represented this was the best way to do it. Remember, Amazon is not included, so under the first column it represents 1,000 books sold on the three channels mentioned. Using market share statistics, out of those 1,000 books, 500 would be on B&N, 375 on Apple, and 125 on Kobo. Here’s what the chart looks like.

As you can see, if the numbers I used for market share are correct, you would earn the same amount of money across all three distributors. The difference is that BB Premium and ebookPartnership cost money. So, am I saying don’t go with the premium options? No. I’m simply presenting the data, as I understand it. Each author has to decide what to do based on where they sell and how much.

Note

There would be a big difference if you used a distributor for Amazon, as BB and ebookPartnership both pay 70% and SW pays 60%. I didn’t include Amazon because it seems as if almost everyone goes direct with them.

Scenario 2

This didn’t turn out at all like I expected, because I had no idea when I started this that authors would earn the same using SW as they did using the premium options for the primary channels. As it stands, scenario 2 is simply a matter of deciding whether the other channels offered by the premium distributors are worth paying for. Let’s take a look.

Bookbaby: To justify using BB’s premium service it’s simply a matter of identifying the channels either not available for free elsewhere, or where BB has a royalty advantage, and then comparing those channels to BB’s free offering. Those channels include: Copia, e-Sentral, Gardners, Page Pusher, Scribd. There is a 15% difference in royalties, so in order to justify $249 for the premium service, you’d have to earn $1,660 on the premium plan for these channels only. The table below shows approximately how many books you need to sell at several price points to break even. And remember, this is per book. If you have 3 books, you need to sell 3x that many.

I understand that BB’s premium service comes with other benefits. Each person will have to determine whether those services add enough value to make the difference. You can look at what is included here.

ebookPartnership: Justifying whether to pay for ebookPartnership’s service is more straightforward since they don’t offer a free service. The channels unique to them are: Google Play, Ingram, Waterstones, and of the three you can go direct with Google Play, although their process is frustrating. I didn’t include Gardners because BB offers it free. I didn’t include Overdrive because it will soon be carried by SW free. Page Foundry and Sony are also offered by SW and/or BB. That leaves us with justifying the $99 cost ($40 with purchase of five credits) based on these three channels. The calculations couldn’t be simpler. Can you sell enough books on Ingram, Waterstones, and Google (if you don’t go direct) to pay for the service? The table below shows how many you need to sell, using 60% as the average royalty rate.

This chart might make you think—damn, I can easily sell 33 books at 4.99. If you have a good following in the UK, Waterstones alone could easily pay for the cost of premium distribution. The decision boils down to knowing where you sell. If you don’t know where you sell, and how much you sell, and at what price point, I suggest you go with free options until you get a handle on your numbers. I certainly recommend keeping a spreadsheet of sales by date, retail channel, price, and geography. These are all important factors to consider when determining who to use for distribution and what price to set for your books.

My Strategy

For those of you who are interested, here’s what I do. I go direct with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo. I use Smashwords and I opt in for every channel except the five I go direct with. I also use Bookbaby’s free option but I only check the boxes for distribution with the channels that Smashwords doesn’t cover. (Copia, e-Sentral, Gardners, and Page Pusher)

Note:

I am reconsidering my strategy and might opt to go to B&N through SW because of the terms at the lower rates.

The Promotions Consideration

If there is one factor that makes a huge difference to an indie author, it’s the ability to run promotions and sales whenever you want, and often on a moment’s notice. If you can’t respond quickly it costs you dearly. When I run ads on the big promotion sites: Bookbub, ereadernewstoday, Kindle Books and Tips, and Pixel of Ink, I need to be able to adjust price up or down quickly. You can only do this if you go direct with the retailer. This might change in the future, but for now I don’t know of any distributor who offers price changes within hours or even a day. This can make a huge difference, because if you have a successful promotion, you want to take advantage of the recommendation algorithms that kick in at the peak of your run. When your book has reached it’s highest ranking (as best as you can determine) you want to raise the price to take advantage of the push from the retailer. (Some authors opt for a different strategy of continuing the sale at a low price.)

Payment Terms

Smashwords pays quarterly. Bookbaby and ebookPartnership pay monthly (assuming minimums are met).

Summary

Bookbaby (Free):

They’ve come a long way in the past year. I have always liked Bookbaby’s clean, easy-to-use site, and the channels they offered, but I felt the cost was high. Now that they offer a free service in addition to paid, it should please a lot more authors.

Pros: Good channels, including all of the major ones, plus Copia, e-Sentral, Gardners, Page Pusher, Scribd. BookPromo package offered to authors for both free and paid services.

Cons: Changes cost you dearly.

Other: For authors looking for a complete publishing package, Bookbaby has a range of services you might like. They offer cover design, print books, website hosting, editing services, book scanning services, and press releases. I have no idea how they rate in any of these areas as I haven’t used them.

EbookPartnership:

This is a fairly new player, at least to me, but they have a lot to offer. Not the least of which is an excellent distribution network on the international front.

Pros: Great channels of distribution, including all of the big ones, plus, Gardners, Google Play, Ingram, Overdrive, and Waterstones.

Cons: Costs $99 per title, and $40 per title per year after that.

Other: ebookPartnership also offers additional services for authors who need them, including a variety of ebook conversions, book scanning, cover design, and website hosting.

Smashwords:

They are the original and largest indie ebook distributor, but that hasn’t stopped Mark Coker from innovating or from continuing to improve.

Pros: In the past year they have started accepting epub files for uploading (December 2012), they introduced pre-order distribution to Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo (B&N doesn’t offer preorders to authors who upload through NookPress, but Smashwords authors get them). Smashwords authors also benefit from an online store, and coupons for custom author promotions.

SW also introduced a web site redesign that made the site more mobile-friendly, introduced enhanced metadata for series books with their Series Manager tool, introduced Smashwords Interviews, an author self-interviewing tool that helps readers learn the story behind the author. SW has strong distribution channels, including: all the big channels, plus Baker & Taylor Axis, Diesel, Flipkart, Library Direct, Oyster, and Scribd. Easy system for uploading, and conversion is free. SW already had one of the best distribution channels, but they continue to improve. Last year they signed a deal with Txtr, one of the big players in Europe, which should be up and running in the first or second quarter of this year.

Big News

I had heard rumors that they might be doing a deal with Overdrive. When I asked about the Overdrive agreement, Smashwords confirmed that a deal with Overdrive was forthcoming and that launch was expected in the next several months. This will make SW books available through the world’s largest library aggregator. One of the biggest pluses, for me, is the ability to opt in/out of channels and to make changes to a book’s content and/or price with no charge. To me, this is critical. If I had to choose only one distributor it would be SW based on this factor alone.

Bottom Line

Financially, the decision on which route to go will vary depending on your price point and your projected sales, but decisions are seldom strictly financial ones. Other factors come into play. Here are a few to consider:

• Ease of use. Both SW and Bookbaby have easy to use sites. I haven’t uploaded to ebookPartnership, but I’ve heard from a few people that say it compares favorably.
• Customer service. I love that Bookbaby has phone support, but that’s only for the premium option. They have email support for all others. SW and ebookPartnership also have email support.

Each person’s circumstances will be different. Before you decide, think of how each factor might affect you. If you have to make changes after uploading, there will be steep charges you’ll incur at Bookbaby or ebookPartnership, while Smashwords is free. Look hard at the charts. It doesn’t take long to rack up expenses that would eliminate all potential profits.

Another factor is the conversion costs. I have mine in epub so I don’t face the issues, but if you’re trying to upload Word documents it will cost you at BB unless you go premium. Be honest about how many books you think you’ll sell, and at what price. Then look at the charts and determine what makes sense. Don’t make a decision based on how many you’d like to sell. Be realistic. Remember, this is how many you’ll sell outside of Amazon, and any other channel you go direct with. Most authors won’t hit the break-even point.

My Take

It’s an absolute no-brainer to go with Smashwords. They have great channels, great support for authors, and it’s free. You can’t argue with that. One of the things I like best about SW is their approach to the business. SW is not trying to sell authors anything. SW doesn’t make any money unless the author makes money, and yet they have costs associated with hosting the site, etc. The only way they make money is to help authors sell books, and they don’t charge for doing that.

I think it’s also a no-brainer to go with Bookbaby’s free option. I signed up for free, but I only opted-in to the channels SW didn’t have.

For the premium options you’ll have to run the numbers. I haven’t gone with them, but I’m considering ebookPartnership if only for Waterstones and Ingram. Don’t let Ingram fool you. Ingram is the largest book distributor in the world and they have a substantial ebook network also. You can see a list here. And Waterstones is a major player in the UK market.

I would really like to see Bookbaby and ebookPartnership step up and cut their fees for changes, and also switch to free conversions without epubs. I’d also like to see ebookPartnership get a free option.

Note:

I looked into two other distributors but didn’t include the details. I didn’t include D2D (Draft to Digital), because they only distribute to Amazon, Apple, B&N, and Kobo, and their terms below the 2.99 price point weren’t as favorable.

I didn’t include Ingram Spark because you cannot opt out of their distributor list, with the exception of Apple and Amazon. They also only pay 40% across the board.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re braver than I expected. But since you persevered, why not sign up for the mailing list so you can be bored all over again when I do another post like this? You can sign up here.

If you enjoyed this post, please share.

Thanks for stopping by,

Giacomo

Giacomo is the author of mystery and suspense books, and he also writes a series of career books which you can check out here.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”

Filed under: Publishing, Writing by Giacomo
37 Comments »