Un-publishing with Smashwords

A handful of readers have found my work via Barnes and Noble, apple, and other venues. Those numbers are very small. I distributed through Smashwords to put both My Boyfriend’s Back and Heart of Gold into those markets.

I’m unpublishing on Smashwords because I have not been satisfied with the process. While MBB went through their “grinder” seamlessly, HOG failed twice in spite of the fact that the alleged error was the copyright page, which is IDENTICAL to MBB (I used the same template.) I even unpubbed and repubbed the other title; it failed, then went through in less than 24 hours with absolutely no changes before resubmission. (Note: that means they rejected, then accepted, the same manuscript.)

Barnes and Noble has been showing discrepancies they refuse to explain.  I have contacted them numerous times over a 6 month period without ever hearing back with so much as a form letter. I am further very troubled that BN has refused to carry certain books in what I view as a hissy fit over consequences of their own bad business practices.

Almost all of my sales are via Amazon. Every email I have sent to Amazon got me a response within 24 hours. Amazon allows me to select “NO DRM.” As such, for the moment, I am going Amazon-only.  This is not a “select” related decision, as I have not opted for KDP Select and am not yet sure if I ever will.

For anyone interested, Calibre is a free program that will convert any book downloaded from Amazon to a format you can use on other devices, including Nook.  Get it HERE: http://calibre-ebook.com/

Welcome My Friends at Kindle Kandy!

Just a quick hello and a recommendation for Kindle owners/readers… my friends Maria Alvarez, Odette Flannagan, and Sarah Levy are launching a Kindle blog with lots of fun stuff. 

Full disclosure: they have pimped me in their opening salvo, and I designed the site and helped them set it up. But it’s ALL them, and I am now just a fan.  Maria, Dette, and Sarah are planning to recommend books that have a minimum of 10 reviews, with an overall rating of 4 stars or higher.  They will list mostly free titles, but others, as well.  And they’ll be doing reviews and short articles, too.

Visit them and follow on twitter or FB to keep up!  Kindle Kandy

Calling All Amazon Cultists?

My first prediction for 2012 is an amazon phone by 2013.

Yup. I said it.

Last year Blackberry was in semi-sooper-seekrit talks with amazon, who wanted to acquire RIM.  RIM was in trouble and amazon wanted the technology to tweak.  The rumors began.

Just as news that amazon had gobbled up a touch-technology company the year before, sparking wild speculation about the Fire prior to its release, the RIM-grab has prompted techno-dweebs everywhere to delay purchases of new phones.  We’re waiting for the kindle phone, which most speculators agree will appear by 2013.  Don’t believe me?  Well, I’m not the only dork nerding out:

C-Net Speculation

PC World Article

Forbes, Expanding on the Speculation

No, the image above is NOT a leaked sample… it’s a photoshop fantasy from my tweaky, nerdy brain.  But I can’t wait to see what really does emerge. 

Kindle Format 8

Amazon today announced Kindle Format 8. This may not sound important, but it is, particularly with the Fire becoming so widely popular.

At a glance, graphic novels and childrens' books would seem to be the primary beneficiaries of the new format. This is probably true. But don’t discount the benefits to your plain-old-novels, either. KF 8 will also have enhanced content and features for us!

Among them:

• Better and more natural formatting, including justification that makes more sense on the page.
• Embedded fonts.
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), nested tables, the ability to scale vector graphics.

Ready to play? Download the updated KindleGen today: KindleGen for KF 8

My Boyfriend's Back

My Boyfriend's Back

A Short, Sweet Romance
by Chrissy Olinger

Paranormal/Fantasy Romance only .99
15,826 words

Available on Kindle from Amazon.com -- BUY IT NOW

"Fear not! I bring you tidings of... DAMMIT!"

With those few words, Jack Lynch's world was turned upside-down. Once the nerd everyone loved to torment, he has returned to his home town for his twentieth reunion. Now a multimillionaire, Jack has everything but the one thing that matters: his true love. Twenty years ago he let her slip away. Now he's back, and determined to win her heart.

But screeching tires on an icy road change everything. If being temporarily dead weren't bad enough, Norman— an angel in training— returns Jack's spirit to the wrong body— the class bully, John Lydon.

With the rockin' hot bod of his former nemesis, the help of a nerdy angel, and his own wits, Jack has to get Rori to see him, love him, and bring about a miracle... without revealing this true identity. The clock is ticking, and he only has three days.

Jack's got the brains; his new body has the brawn; and Norman's got his back. What could possibly go wrong?

*This book contains some mild language, no strong sexual content, and an excessive amount of silliness.