What a whirlwind week it’s been! I realized that everything I thought about the publishing process was wrong, and even the information I was given has been constantly disproven. I don’t know anything about anything anymore.
Well, I know a little bit. The newest news, although a couple days ago I was told the ebook would take 4-6 weeks, it became available from AuthorHouse last night and from Amazon this morning. The Kindle edition is currently being read!
Kindle/ebook:
I am a little bit disappointed in the way the ebook turned out, but looking back at other ebooks I have that are duplicates of physical copies, the ebook is always stripped to bare bones.
I do recommend the ebook for affordability and ease-of-access. It’s $3.99 ($4.27 after tax), and it does allow you to change the font or font size to something easier to read, and you can download the Kindle app for free on your phone. If you aren’t concerned with the experience a physical book gives, the ebook is a solid option.
What doesn’t it have? Well, it doesn’t have the spacing that a book typically does. It doesn’t have the cool font of the chapter titles. It doesn’t have the triskele accent image. The physical books look like this:
But it does have the map and the other important image, though the map is a bit hard to read. You can come to the website to view the map if it’s too small to read. It does have the full text in a format that makes sense. It does allow you to read the full book from the convenience of your phone, on-the-go, wherever you are.
Hardback/paperback:
These are currently available from AuthorHouse and Amazon. They should be available from Barnes & Noble within the next couple weeks. Some of this has been covered already, so I’ll just say that I’m chomping at the bit waiting for my author copies to show up. I cannot wait to hold them in my hands, and the final design was beautiful. Those who ordered them when they went live should be receiving their copies very soon!
Audiobook:
As a resource for the formats, I’ll reiterate. I recorded the audiobook myself last weekend. I have a decent recording device, so there’s not your standard background noise, though at times my helper can be heard crying in the distance. I think it’s adorable, so whereas I could have edited it out, I decided to keep it in.
I also have a tendency to raise my voice when I tell a story. (My former students probably remember how ridiculously forceful my voice sometimes got when I was reading out loud.) So, sometimes the audio is great, and sometimes I’m a little too loud a little too close to the mic. I do funny voices, just because I do an old lady voice and various man voices that do not come off as they probably should. Sometimes I flub my words.
What I’m doing this week is editing the audio. Mostly I’m just taking out coughing and hiccups, or places where I very clearly say “asses” instead of “axes” or something like that because I’m talking too fast to enunciate. It’s not perfect, and it won’t be perfect. What it will be is the full story, read by the author, for those of you who read better with audio or who listen to audiobooks in the car or something because you don’t have time to read. For me, Christmas music radio time is always audiobook time.
It will be available only from my website, and it will be an mp3 download I will send to you directly. I need to charge at least the amount of the ebook for various reasons, so that’s what it is. I just made it a rounded $4 (mostly so I didn’t have to mess with numbers at all). I should be able to finish my editing this weekend, so I intend to have the audiobook available by Sunday. There is a sample on the Ranger’s Odyssey page to give you an idea of what you’d be getting.
Again, sometimes too loud voice, flubbing words, crying cat, funny voices. Still an entertaining listen. Worth $4, but not worth the price of a standard audiobook by any means. I do believe some of you will enjoy it.
Purchase links:
AuthorHouse—hardback, paperback, and ebook are all available.
Amazon—hardback, paperback, and Kindle edition are available. They’re all separate listings for some reason, but you can find them by searching.
Tales of Ambergrove site—audiobook available soon. Please allow 24 hours for me to send you the audiobook after it’s available and you place your order.
Goodreads/rating:
If you use Goodreads, my book is listed there and I have an author account as well. Personally, I haven’t used Goodreads all that much, but there are many merits to it. My suggestion pertains to ratings and possible FAQs. I would love to have you rate my book where you purchased it. I want to hear what you have to say about my stories—good and bad. Goodreads allows you to rate my book no matter where you purchased it—or even if you borrowed it from the library or a friend instead of purchasing. Ratings bring people in, even the negative ones. I’m excited for my story to spread and spread, and ratings are good for me and good for other readers to decide if my book is worth purchasing. I, personally, don’t buy a book unless I can read reviews or I know the author already.
Another draw of Goodreads is public questions. You are welcome to contact me with questions, either by the contact function on the website, by emailing, or by messaging on the Facebook page. However, if you have a question that others might share, you can ask it on Goodreads and I can answer it for everyone. Surely there are those as awkward as me who really want to ask a question and are too nervous to do it. Your question could help them too.
If you would like to rate or review, or if you have a question, please use whatever platform is best for you. I’d love to hear from you.
I’m sure I’ll have a new update very soon. Until next time, adventurers!
Tales of Ambergrove 