great american novel | Write On! Publishing

E-Books and Self-Publishing

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Write On! Publishing, Wayne Tilden

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There was a time when I believed the only “real” books were printed on high-quality paper with a nice crisp cover and an unmistakable fragrance. A “real” book was the only kind of book I wanted to see my “Great American Novel” appear. Then I discovered BookRix.

Through BookRix I could publish on-line; which was free to produce and free to read. For a couple years I was able to get my feet wet “publishing and marketing” these books, at no cost to anyone, but no income to me. Then I discovered Smashwords.

A number of colleagues on BookRix recommended Smashwords as an excellent platform to publish quality e-books at no charge to the author. Their Stlyle Guide is very detailed, but if it is followed exactly, one can produce a great-looking and quality e-book. In fact, Smashwords formats the final book into most major platforms, including Kindle, Nook, and Sony. Of course they can also be downloaded in EPub format for other platforms; Adobe Reader, Kobo, and many others.

Of course the pricing and marketing is still up to the author, but Smashwords has a “Premium Catalog” of titles which is distributed industry-wide.

So far I have published two books under my Write On! Publishing name. One is a children’s Christmas story, The Adventures of Chris Mouse. The other is a collection of my mother’s devotional writings; Devotionals and Meditations, by Jewel Tilden.

(Maybe this is a shameless way to promote my books, but it’s also good advertising.)

If You’ve ever considered self-publishing your work as an e-book, I recommend Smashwords. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the outcome.

Write On!

Filed under: e-books, publishing | Tagged: adobe reader, BookRix, Devotionals and Meditations, e-books, great american novel, publishing, real books, SmashWords, The Adventures of Chris Mouse, Write On! Publishing, writing | 3 Comments »

Comments and Ratings

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"To Kill a Mockingbird" was required reading when I was a freshman in high school. At that time, we also viewed the movie together as a class. It's surprising how true to the book the movie is.

The further information on whom the characters are based gives it a special enjoyment to me. If you didn't know, Scout is the author, Harper Lee, herself - who also narrated the movie, and Dill is Truman Capote, the author of "In Cold Blood", who actually was a summer neighbor and friend of Ms Lee.

Since then I have read the book a number of times just because I wanted to. It's still, as far as I'm concerned, a modern classic which should continue to be required reading.

Poland by James A. Michener
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While a very long book, Poland is a worthwhile read. Michener is at his best and is able to cover a very large period of time. The novel begins in 1204 and covers 777 years until 1981.

The author courageously covers the major wars, civil changes, and social changes. His descriptions, particular of the battles and subterfuges make you feel like you are intimately involved with the people and places.

While many of the characters are fictional, he manages to include, at least, references to historical figures. Pope John Paul II (Cardinal Karoly Wojtyla), Lech Walesa, Ronald Reagan, and others.

We are taken into battles between the Polish people and the Tatars, the Prussians, the Viennese, the "Great War" Germans, the Nazis, and the Communist Russians, to name a few. And each time Poland always "bounces back".

This is a protracted tome, but well worth the read. If you're interested in the minor countries place in the Middle Ages, in the relationship of those Slavic related countries, in World War I's place in Eastern Europe, and the beginnings of the freedom fight against the Russian Communists, then this is one great place to start - or to continue your reading and study.

Step up, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have had many opportunities to have read this book before, but the scope of the story frightened me. After I found out that it covered the same period as Les Miserables - which I have read - I decided that it was time to read it.

This is a book of tremendous scope. I found it hard to keep track of some of the characters, but the overall story was excellent, and the principles were very well fleshed out and showed great humanity.

In many ways this was a "typical" Charles Dickens story. There are many storylines and some of the characters work in and out of the stories to tie the whole thing together.

I found this to be an enjoyable read and recommend it to any and all who are Dickens fans and any who are interested in the period of Louis the XVI, the guillotine, the storming of the Bastille and the French students' rebellion/riots/protests.

View all my reviews