The eternal question: Treebook vs. Ebook??

I make absolutely no attempt at hiding the fact that I ADORE ebooks and ereaders. For me, it made reading easier and more convenient. I love the size of the device and what it gives me. But I also love paperback and hardcover books. Reminds me of being a kid and snuggling up in my hot pink vinyl beanbag chair and reading.

I just love books...no matter how I read them.

Hubby bought me a hardcover for my birthday. It is the fifth book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I am a huge huge fan of Ann Brashares, so when I heard this book was out, I had to have it. But digital wasn't good enough. I know I will read this book again. I just need to have a physical copy.

But part of me really wants the entire series in digital format too....it's just so much easier to read than holding the heavy hard cover.

Do you own any books in both formats???

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Kids say the darndest things!!

I just had to share this conversation with my son. He's 3.

Me: (I'm laying on the couch reading a book on my Sony Reader and he comes over trying to climb on me.) Careful E, I'm reading my book.

E: That's not a book.

Me: What is it then?

E: A silver thing.

Me: See, it's got words. It's a book.

E: A book doesn't have buttons. (He leaves and comes back with one of his books.) See, no buttons.

And then of course smarty pants Miss J (my 8 y/o comes over with a different book.) "This book has buttons." (It was one of those kids books with sound buttons to press at certain times during the story.)

As much as I adore my reader and the ease of digital media, I'm glad my kids have appreciation for paper books. I really would hate to see them disappear. Funny little reality check..... :)

Ps...The Very Hungry Caterpillar is his favorite book! :)

And make sure you stop back tomorrow!!!!!!!!! I have a FABULOUS guest blogger stopping by!!! She is my hero!!

Epublishing is NOT the same as self publishing!!!

I am very proud of the fact that I persevered and found a publisher who adored my work as much as I do. They are a primarily digital house, meaning the majority of their titles are only available as eBooks.

There seems to be this HUGE misconception in the publishing world where people- published and non-published writers- think that epublishing is self publishing. Well let me tell you, it absolutely is not!

I have contracts with a fantastic publisher, Lyrical Press. They are an epublisher but by no means are they an avenue for writers to self publish their work. I had to submit and be reviewed before it was accepted for publication. Then I went through several rounds of copy edits, then line edits. Then I had to review a galley proof.

It really really irritates me to read blogs of writers and authors who use the terms epublishing and self publishing interchangeably. They are not the same. I am not self published.

Yes, there are many avenues online for writers to self publish and do it digitally. Amazon, Smashwords, etc...It's easier than ever to write anything you want and throw it out into the world of digitally publishing. But there are authors who have worked really hard with teams of editors through legitimate publishing houses that just so happen to also publish digitally.

I chose not to self publish and I need to state clearly that I am not trying to insult anyone who has chosen that route. I have read my fair share of self-published work. Some is good...some it is easy to tell the author did do the work necessary and has hired a professional editor to make sure the work is the highest quality possible. But I have also read utter crap where it is clear the author wanted to publish their work and had zero ability to see it's flaws. I honestly believe no writer is able to see all of their own flaws...and we do have them. If you think you don't, you are mistaken.

So please, give credit where credit is due. Don't call me a self-published author simply because my work is published electronically.

But the one fortunate thing here is the fact that the general non-writing, book-reading public does not know the difference. They will download ebooks that sound interesting to them and when they start reading the ones that obviously have had no editorial help, they'll lose faith in that author and stop spending their money on them. Thank God for sites like Goodreads!!

Warning......I need to rant here.....

I am so so so so so so sick and tired of hearing/reading that people "Don't like eBooks." And "I love the feel of a book in my hands." "I love the smell of paper." "I can't snuggle up with an eReader."



First of all, ebooks are here to stay, so let's just deal with it, people! LOL! The world's technology is growing...fast. If you don't get on board, you will be left behind. Everything is going digital- music, movies, books. It's just the way it is. Am I completely happy that physical media will one day be a thing of the past? No, not entirely. But it is what it is and there are far too many supporters of digital media to halt the progression. Look at music....do you know even one teen who owns a cd player anymore?? I sure don't. They all have ipods. Their entire music collection is digital.

I didn't know much about digital publishing when I inked my initial deal with Lyrical Press, a primarily digital publisher, almost 2 years ago. But I quickly learned. And as soon as I could afford one, I got a digital book reader. And I adored it from moment one.

It is completely easy to read, so enough complaining about eye strain. E-ink technology is fantastic...just like looking at a real book page. If the reader plans to read entire novels on a computer screen or iPad, yeah that would cause some eye strain, but not the dedicated eReaders. They are completely easy on the eyes.

They are convenient too. I love taking mine to the gym. No way would I be able to hold any kind of paper book and walk on the treadmill. With the eReader, I can leave it on the ledge and when I need, quickly press the page flip button. The ability to change the font size is a huge plus too, especially when I switch to the elliptical and do more bouncing. The larger font allows me to still be able to read.

You can't snuggle up with an eBook??? How easily can you "snuggle" with an 80-pound, 6-1/2" x 9" hardcover?? Okay, so 80 pounds is an exaggeration, but you get what I mean. Those suckers are heavy and I have a REAL hard time holding one and laying in bed with it. But my eReader, so light and thin, and there is not one moment that I get a cramp in my hand from holding it.

And "the smell of paper"? Really? Let's just think a minute about ALL THAT PAPER. All those trees....all the people who don't recycle magazines and newspapers when they're through. All the books that I imagine get tossed in the garbage. It's beyond time to Go Green. And it needs to be done in every little place we can. Many eReaders have the capability to download newspapers and magazines, limiting the paper we waste.

Okay...I think my rant is done. :)

Hollywood has recognized eBooks!

The other night, hubby and I watched "Date Night" with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. Good movie!! But I was so incredibly impressed that one scene in the movie used a Kindle!!! Yay for Hollywood!!!!

Seems more and more, digital publishing is getting it's props. And this is so wonderful!!! With every passing nod, eBooks are gaining more and more recognition and support. It is being brought in front of people more and like in the movie, showing that regular everyday people are using the technology. In the movie, the Kindle belonged to a cab driver.

Digital publishing is here to stay, regardless of what some people may think. :)

This is a MUST READ!!

Is print dead???

I know there are tons of people saying "Hell no!!!" right this very second....but did we ever think there would be homes without phones in them? I don't have a phone in my home...well, that's a lie...I do..I have an alarm clock telephone. But it's not connected to a phone jack. We only have cell phones.

I came across this post on Amanda Young's Blog: Romance Without Inhibition and I just had to share. It's a article she posted by J.A. Konrath and it is absolutely brilliant!!!

Another thing I LOVE about digital book readers!

It is so much more convenient to read while working out!!!!!!

I tried the magazine thing once while using the elliptical at the gym. Did not work at all. The constant bouncing made it very hard to read the tiny words. And turning the page....that is an accident waiting to happen. I am pretty good on the machines but it doesn't take much to throw off your balance when you're in a groove! I keep at least one hand on the handle at all times!

Then one day I saw a woman with her Kindle. At first I thought, great idea, no pages to physically turn. Seemed like something I could try, but I worried that the constant bouncing would still make it too hard to keep my eyes on the line and not re-reading the same one over and over.

Then I remembered the button to adjust the text size. BRILLIANT! I set the text to the biggest size, problem solved!! I do have to "flip" the page more often since there is less text on the page, and therefore, I run my battery out quicker, but still. This is fantastic!! Makes my workout fly by. I do 20 minutes on the crossramp/stepper thingy and it used to feel like a full 20 minutes. Now it is gone in a flash. Then I move to the elliptical for another 15 minutes and then a 2 1/2 minute cool down and I usually stay on a few more minutes cause I hate stopping mid chapter. I then move on to the other weight lifting machines for arms and legs and all that and if there was some way of still reading while I did that, I so would!

At this rate, I will surpass my book reading goal for the year, which is set at 30. I know some set a 100 book goal..that would be an impossible goal for me. I only read 16 last year and was very disappointed in that. 30 seemed much more reasonable, especially with getting the Sony Reader for Christmas.

My only fear with using the Reader at the gym is someone on the machine next to me peeking over while I'm mid sex-scene. :)

Final stage of editing....I can't believe it!!!

Wow. Can't believe this day is here. Today I start the absolute last stage of editing. I received my galley yesterday and now all that's left to do is go through and note any typos or other minuscule changes. After this there's no going back...no more changes. This is it!!!

I am in awe of how far I've come since starting this book. It had a different name back then and the original story idea was a bit different. It morphed as I wrote and I remember how fast I pumped out that first draft. Barely two months it took me...I was so excited...so inspired...I just could not stop. It was three years ago this month that I started it.

I remember how excited I was when it was finished and how fabulous I thought it was. I edited and perfected it and I queried. I received 9 requests...one of which was a full request from Red Dress Ink, one of the biggest chick lit publishers around. (this was when they still accepted unagented submissions). Devastation filled me when every single one ended in rejection.

But I loved this story so much.

It sat for a while, then it got an overhaul. I queried again and had no luck at all. Then I sent it off to a few digital publishers and that's when my story found it's home. My heart about burst when I found someone else who loved this story as much as I did.

And now here we are, after perfecting it even more...ready to publish and share it with the world!

My Cover Art: Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so unbelievably excited to share this with my blogger friends!!!!

As I said in my last post, it is a bit more racy than I would have liked, but option #2 was just not as striking. And honestly, the second model had WAY too much makeup on and she was kinda ugly! LOL! And her arms were positioned really weird. I think this cover will definitely grab someone's attention and hopefully once readers read the blurb, they will want to buy it! There is a warning that will post under my blurb, telling possible buyers that the story contains strong language. There is no mention of sex in my warning, so hopefully that will be enough to let readers know it is not an erotic novel. And it will be listed under Chick Lit not Erotica.

Sooooooooo......what do you guys think??????

COVER ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond excited!!!!!!

Wow....I have been waiting for this day...since...forever!!! I think all writers dream of the day they will see their name printed across the cover of a book! And let me tell you...just the jpeg attachment of my cover art took my breath away!!

I never really had any ideas for cover art for A Bitch Named Karma. My publisher, Lyrical Press, asked what my ideas were, which I thought was very cool of them, and I didn't really know what to say. I wanted something eye-catching, of course, and I like more simplistic covers. Lyrical has fantastic cover art, so I wanted to leave it up to the professionals!

And wow...did the professionals do an amazing job!!!

I am not going to post it yet...I know...it breaks my heart not to share it!!! It may go through a change before it's set in stone.

But let me tell you, the font is really fantastic...and the background is a medium blue and it's ruched satin. I am not usually a fan of blue, but this is really stunning. There is a female model on the cover, as Lyrical uses real photos on their cover as apposed to drawings. She's gorgeous, of course, with dark hair that contrasts against the blue amazingly!

My one and only gripe is her clothing....or rather, lack there of. She's a little too naked for the type of novel. It's chick lit/contemporary romance and my fear is that potential readers will think it is an erotic novel. There are sex scenes, but they are, for lack of a better word, glossed over. My MC is a very sexual person but I chose not to write the details of the scenes. I'm afraid that someone may look at the cover and pass on it because they do not like detailed sex scenes. Or others may buy it thinking it's erotica and feel disappointed when it's not.

Book covers, even digital ones, are sooooooooooo important. No matter what your blurb says, or what your excerpt is....readers see that cover first and they form an opinion immediately. Last thing I want to do is turn away potential buyers or disappoint someone who was looking for more that what my book contains.

Irritated and hurt and just plain angry...

Just participated in an online debate on Facebook about digital publishing with three fellow writers (who I know in real life) who claim to be my friends but completely shun eReaders and all forms of digital publishing. Well, gee, thanks guys....I guess that means I can count on you for ZERO support when my book is released as a digital book later this year.

If someone wants no part in digital media, fine, do what you want. I like paper books just as much as the next person, but I have accepted the fact that publishing is changing.

Technology is happening...you can't sit back and refuse to take part in it...if you refuse today's advances, you may as well reject yesterdays advances, like computers, the internet, telephones, microwaves, tv, refrigerators, even cars! It's hypocritical to say the advances of the 21st century are crap, but things we have come to know as life, advances of our grandfathers in the 19th and 20th century, those are okay.

Let's face it, digital media is here to stay. Look at music....do you think kids are going to one day shun the ipods they've known for years and years?? No, of course not. And it's all just getting bigger and better. I think that's exactly what will happen with eReaders.

I know I can't change people's minds...they'll think what they want to think, but why such negativity? Like I said....our world is built on technology...is all of it great, no, but why are digital books considered evil??

I kissed the feet of technology the day my ePublishing contract arrived...and in an email, no less. So a question to all these anti-ebook people....should I have never submitted to a digital publisher? Should I have turned down a contract for my book....a contract for the electronic publishing of my novel, my baby, the project I dedicated so much if my time to? Should I have rejected the chance to start my career???? Just curious as to what the eBook scoffers would say to those questions.

All I'm asking for is a little bit of open-mindedness. This "nope, nadda, NEVER gonna do it" attitude does not work for me....in regard to eReaders or anything else in life.