The Future of Publishing: Make Your Own Audiobooks

How can writers turn their books into audio form? Here are three ways:

1. With a text-to-speech program.

Cost: Low (Free to $100)
Quality: Low
Time: Minimal
Programs and/or tools:

• NaturalReader Free – NaturalReader Free is one of the best free text to speech software. To hear any text, just select the text and press your selected hotkey – NaturalReader will immediately start reading it for you. Extremely easy to use. Download Here.
•  iSpeech Free – You do not have to download or install anything. Just copy paste the text you want to be converted, or you can even upload a document. iSpeech will convert that to text for you. Completely Free. Try Here.
•  
• ReadPlease – Read Text from Clipboard ReadPlease is another free and easy to use text to speech software. You can download it, and paste any text that you want it to read. Apart from that, ReadPlease can also read the text from your clipboard. Download Here.  
• DSpeech - Free Text to Speech SoftwareDspeech is another free text to speech software. It easily converts text to speech, and lets you save them as audio files. This is a simple no frills attached Text to Speech Software. Download Here.

2. Hire a professional.

Cost: High ($500-5000)
Quality: High
Time: Minimal
Production Companies:

• Audio In Books
• Cedar House

3. Your voice or with the help of your friends.

Cost: Mid-range
Quality: Mid-range
Time: A lot
Programs and/or tools:
A high to studio-quality microphone ($50-500)
Headphones ($10-50)
Audacity - Audacity is a free, easy-to-use and multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.(Free)

Tomorrow, we will discuss the third one in greater detail. A lot of self-published authors want to turn their books into audiobooks and yet they don't like their voice, or they would like a certain type of reader. Perhaps as a large writing community, we can work together to help all writers succeed at this.


Source:
http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/2010/12/18/how-to-turn-your-book-into-an-audiobook-and-vice-versa/

The Future of Publishing: Stepping Outside The Box

Some may think I'm being down on reading but I'm not. The love of reading and stories will never diminish, only the form may change. We are in that adjustment period--the changes. Like those who lived from stone to scroll or from papyrus to paper. Exciting!

The wonderful thing about this change is that it's possible for us to be the innovators, to be the ones who create the new form of reading device.

Let's look at one of those ways:

AUDIOBOOKS

Recently I acquired a few audiobooks to listen to on my Kindle. Thanks, audible.com! I listen to unabridged copies of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, and many other. I am currently listening to The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie--read by Emilia Fox. I love that woman's voice. She the actress from one of my favourite TV series Silent Witness. Anyway, I love audiobooks because I listen to them when I drive, when I'm cooking, when I'm cleaning. I'm reading and cleaning at the same time!

So, I did some research. How popular are audiobooks?

According to a survey of talking book listeners taken by the Audio Publishers Association in 2007, nearly 1 in 4 Americans (24.6%) had listened to an audiobook in the previous year.

And the number is growing! Audio books are actually gaining popularity in places like India because those who can not read can become educated through audio books.

"You can not read a book while jogging but you can listen to a book. Audiobook is like a companion. It's also called university on wheels," adds Abhilash.--From IBN Live

Who listens to audiobooks?

• Children who can't read.
• Children who can't read, and the damn TV in the SUV is broken and the children are whining (sit down, Robert, and put your seatbelt on!) but you do have an Ipod you can play through your car speakers.
• Adults who can't read or don't like to read.
• Adults who can read but are busy.
• Writers who are busy but want to read while doing other mundane (but apparently needed) tasks like scrubbing the collars of my husband's white dress shirts before putting them in the wash or picking up dog poop.

What about me?

My book is self-published and other one is published by a small, independent publisher, they're not going to turn my book into an audiobook and I hate my voice.

That's true. So what can authors do? I think we need to team up. I think we need to take advantage of the wonderful blogging community we have. I think we need to be innovative--step outside the box.

Tomorrow's topic: Turning your book into an audiobook.

Have you ever listened to audiobooks? Have you ever wanted to turn your book into an audiobook? Do you see benefits to audiobooks?

Sources:
Pic source: studentfiles.wordpress
Audio for books
http://www.audible.com/
Promotion World

The Future of Publishing: Appealing to the Next Generations

My son (15) loves to read. He devours books. Novels, not so much, but, history books, ocean and nature books, yes. (Although, right now he's reading White Fang and loving it!) Because of this, I assumed kids love to read. However, recently I asked his friend if he read and his answer, "not unless I have to". He only read homework assignments and really not that. I asked if that was true of many his age and the reply was YES!

It got me thinking, who will the next generation take after--my son or my son's friends?

DO KIDS READ ANYMORE?

The Boston Globe reported in 2007:

Only 30 percent of 13-year-olds read daily, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier.
"This is a massive social problem." says NEA chairman Dana Giolia. "We are losing the majority of the new generation. They will not achieve anything close to their potential because of poor reading."
Giolia said children's lives are "cluttered with a million gadgets."

The Daily Mail stated:

The National Literacy Trust study into reading habits found children were more likely to use social networking sites, emails, blogs and websites than pick up a book.
Just 42 per cent of boys and 48 per cent of girls read more than one work of fiction each month, according to the survey of 1,530 children.

Many say that children are reading more than ever. Look at the Harry Potter/ Twilight craze! And it's true, many have read those books but (a) the amount of books read by the next generation per year is declining and (b) the way children read is changing.

WHY DON'T KIDS READ?

• Social Media - who wants to read when they can be chatting with their friends
• Video games - enough said
• Bad Role Models - children gain a love of reading from their parents or teachers and if they don't encourage reading, young ones will not pick it up.

HOW WILL KIDS READ IN THE FUTURE?

I think reading will continue into the future because we need to read to gain information. However, with bookstores going out of business and libraries lacking the funding, what does the future hold?

I think this is where savvy novelists will need to make changes in order to last into generations to come. Children use technology and we have to as well.

About 25 percent of the children surveyed said they had already read a book on a digital device, including computers and e-readers. Fifty-seven percent between ages 9 and 17 said they were interested in doing so. Francie Alexander, the chief academic officer at Scholastic, called the report “a call to action.”
“I didn’t realize how quickly kids had embraced this technology,” Ms. Alexander said, referring to computers and e-readers or other portable devices that can download books. “Clearly they see them as tools for reading — not just gaming, not just texting. They see them as an opportunity to read.”--From NY TIMES

 WHAT ARE SOME CONCERNS?

But many parents surveyed also expressed deep concerns about the distractions of video games, cellphones and television in their children’s lives. They also wondered if the modern multi-tasking adolescent had the patience to become engrossed in a long novel.
“My daughter can’t stop texting long enough to concentrate on a book,” said one parent surveyed, the mother of a 15-year-old in Texas.
Another survey participant, the mother of a 7-year-old Michigan boy, said, “I am afraid my son’s attention span will only include fast-moving ideas, and book reading will become boring to him.”--From the NY TIMES

WE WILL BE ADDRESSING THESE CONCERNS OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WITH THESE TOPICS:

• AUDIOBOOKS
• INTERACTIVE BOOKS
• CHAPTERS ON DEMAND

What are you thoughts? Do you see this to be the trend? Do your children read?

Sources:
ReadWriteWeb
The Studying and Learning Place
Toribash.com
The Atlantic
BBC News

Clarissa Read The Cosy Knave and got an award!

THE COSY KNAVE
Writer: Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen
Challenge: None

Kindle: here
Genre: Cosy mystery
How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis from Amazon:

A humorous cosy mystery, set in Yorkshire 2010.
The vicious attacks begin when the prodigal son of Knavesborough, Mark Baldwin, returns to the sleepy village after forty years in Argentina, fully equipped with fame, fortune and effeminate butler.
Small wonder that the spiteful nosey parker Rose Walnut-Whip is stabbed, but how could the murderer get away with shattering the perfect, English tearoom idyll in front of twenty villagers?
Constable Archibald Penrose is in dire need of assistance as his superior, DI Mars-Wrigley, is preoccupied with England´s chances in the football world cup. Penrose´s enthusiastic fiancée, the mint-new librarian Rhapsody Gershwin, is more than willing to help as she sees this as Penrose´s route to promotion (and a welcome raise).
As she is the vicar´s daughter, Rhapsody´s treasure trove of local knowledge may come in handy, and to be perfectly honest, the young sleuth may also be a tad curious. And of course the crimes do not stop here. A dangerous criminal is on the lose in Yorkshire. Can the young couple stop the perpetrator in time?

What I liked: This book is a perfect read for a lazy afternoon. With a cup of tea. It's your typical cosy with lots of characters, lots of banter and of course, a murder. The character's names (and I'm sure most readers will agree) are so unique and fun. Names like Rhapsody Gershwin, Rose Walnut-Whip, Ima T. Drinker and Wanna Mary Afotballer (oh wait, the last two are not in the book). If you are a fan of cosies, you'll like this book.

What I didn't liked: I know most cosies have a lot of characters but with all the people involved and because the first few chapters introduced us to them all at once, I had to eventually go back to the beginning and write all the names down. I just couldn't remember who anyone was. That said, I have a problem with names to begin with so it could just be me. If you have read the book and you had no problems with the names, please say so in the comments.

What book does it remind me of? 

Elizabeth Spann Craig's Myrtle mysteries but set in Britain.

Parental Advisory: None

The lovely Tirz from A Clever Whatever has given me an award. The Blog On Fire Award. I really hope it's meant to say my blog is HOT and not that there are people out there that want to burn my blog down. ;)

Anyway, check out Tirz's blog and website. She makes covers for a great price. Especially for the ever-growing self-published group who have problems designing a good looking cover.

Here are a few examples of her covers:

Clarissa's Research: What is a burn phone?

I'm interrupting a series to post this little mystery tidbit. We often hear in tv shows or movies about criminals using burn phones. Well, here's what I found out. This is solely for mystery/crime writing research.

What is a burn phone?

Burn phones are prepaid cell phones. Also known as throwaway phones. They are used only for a limited time and can be thrown away. Sometimes they come with time on it or you have to buy minutes. You don't need a contract because you buy the phone outright.

Why do criminals like to use them?

These phones are inexpensive, simple cell phones that cannot be traced by a SIM card. These phones don't require a credit card to activate because you can purchase minutes on cards with cash. In part because you don't need to give any personal information, or show any identification to buy one of these devices.

Where can burn phones be bought?

Anywhere. Walmart. They are sold at large retailers like Walmart, drug stores, and even grocery stores.

Burner Phones and Crime Stories

The criminal complaint recently filed against the 10 Russian nationals on charges relating to espionage, for example include the fact that they all used prepaid cellphones, or "burn phones to communicate. These phones were used once maybe and then discarded.

For years organized crime and drug cartels have used prepaids to stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

If that wasn't bad enough cheap prepaid cellphones can be used to trigger an "improvised explosive devices" (IED's) remotely, as was the case with the recent Times Square bomb plot in New York. Police say terror suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani American citizen use a prepaid cellphone to detonate the vehicle bomb.

Sources:
ehow
allvoices.com
ask.com

The Future Of Publishing: Understanding BookStats

On August 9, 2011 BookStats conducted a survey of the U.S. publishing industry from 2008 to 2010. Here are some of the results:

• Overall U.S. publishing revenues are growing - Publishers' net sales revenue has grown annually; 2010's $27.94 Billion is a 5.6% increase over 2008.
• Americans, young and old, are reading actively in all print and digital formats
• Both Adult Fiction and Juvenile (non-fiction and fiction) have seen consistent annual gains.
• Education publishing holds steady and, in some segments, shows solid growth

That sounds great, but what does it really mean?

Overall, the publishing revenues are growing. Is that because books cost more to buy and the same to make? Is that because publishers are making greater revenue on e-books?

"Sales at retail bookstores declined 7.8% between 2009 and 2010, while online sales have increased 46.1%...While almost all physical book formats have declined between 2009 and 2010, e-books grew by 201%." From Andy Ross at Ask the Agent

What are young and old Americans reading? Are they reading novels or textbooks for school. Children read 25 minutes a day on average (up from 23 minutes a few years ago) but what are they reading?

Are fiction sales gaining because people are buying more?

The Bookstats report does not reflect the ever-growing self-publishing market and doesn't included the time when e-books were on the rise. So it will be interesting to see what others have to say when the full report (only $600 to buy) is analyzed.

Have you seen the report? What are your thoughts on the report?

Next in the series: Are Children Reading Books?

Sources:

• http://write2publish.blogspot.com/
• http://aardvarknow.us/2011/08/09/bookstats-report/
• http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/publishing-not-in-such-bad-shape-after-all/
• http://publishers.org/bookstats/formats/
• http://www.bookstats.org/

The Future of Publishing: The History

Over the next few days... or weeks, I want to discuss the future of publishing. I think it's important because for many authors, it might mean changing our writing/publishing journey or it may involve brainstorming creative ways to reach new audiences. Some things we will discuss:

• What I learned from the BookStats report.
• How do we reach the next generations?

But today, I want to look into the past. I want to see where the publishing industry has been.

The Uneducated Guide into the History of Publishing

Humans have been around for ages. Duh! But so has publishing.
Here a brief look into the timeline of publishing:

4000 BC-ish

The first self-published author? A best-seller perhaps, but not light reading. 

Many years passed.

7th -13th Century

Here we see publication and duplication of manuscripts. However, most are just religious and most are only found in religious institutions.

15th - 16th Century

The first printed books. However, still mostly religious. But, soon there were new books on science, mathematics, and military engineering. 

1480

Oxford University Press starts printing.

18th Century

There was a public demand for the novel. With the expansion of the middle class by the middle of the 18th century, more people could read and they had money to spend on literature. There was already a high interest in autobiography, biography, journals, diaries, memoirs. The early English novel departs from the allegory and the romance with its vigorous attempt at verisimilitude and it was initially strongly associated with the middle class, their pragmatism, and their morality.

1719

DANIEL DEFOE, Sometimes called the founder of the modern English novel, published Robinson Crusoe.

1811

Jane Austen published her first novel, through her brother Henry. The publisher Thomas Egerton agreed to publish Sense and Sensibility. It's pretty much a self-published novel.

1817

HarperCollins was founded in New York City as J. and J. Harper, later Harper & Brothers, by James and John Harper.

1826

Hachette Livre, a French publisher, was founded by Louis Hachette as a bookshop and publishing company. Hachette has its headquarters in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.

1837

Little, Brown and Company Founded.

1843

Macmillan brothers start a publishing company.

1850

Number of published authors: 82

1853

William II, of HarperCollins, introduces new, up-to-date steam presses, publishes and prints the works of Shakespeare and Pilgrim’s Progress in cheap editions, making them available to the masses.

1869

New York branch of Macmillan opens.

1886

Macmillan declines to publish George Bernard Shaw.

1925 - 1934

HarperCollins publishes Agatha Christie’s first novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The Crime Club list formed.
Number of publishing companies large or small: 397

Skip forward a few years...

1990

Number of major publishing companies: about 113

1995

Number of major publishing companies: about 83

1996

Little, Brown and Company and Warner Books merge to become Time Warner Trade Publishing, later to be renamed Time Warner Book Group (TWBG).

2005

Number of published authors: 185,275

2006

TWBG is acquired by Hachette Livre and renamed Hachette Book Group USA.

2007

Amazon released the Kindle First Generation on November 19th for US$399 and was sold out in five and a half hours.

Number of US publishers: 74,240

Number of major publishing companies: 6

Now that we've seen where publishing has been, we'll start looking at where we think it's going.
What do you think of the past? What are your prediction for the future of publishing?

Source: The History of Publishing
Origins of the Novel
The State of Publishing
History of Publishing and How it Impacts Us Today
Publishing Big 6: Who are they?
Wikipedia

Captain's bLogger CD Presents Ellie Garratt's Star Trek Blogfest

Ellie Garratt is hosting a blogfest: Star Trek As We Know It where we are to list five of our favorite Star Trek Episodes, Characters, or Movies. Here are mine.

(1) Data from Star Trek The Next Generation
What's not to love about this android? Designed and built by Doctor Noonien Soong, Data is a sentient android who serves as the second officer and chief operations officer aboard the starships USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E. Though Data's strive for humanity and desire for human emotion is a significant plot point (and source for humor) throughout the series, he continually shows a nuanced sense of wisdom, sensitivity, and curiosity.

"If you prick me, do I not... leak?" -- Data

(2) The Doctor from Star Trek Voyager
This is a hologram and a doctor who eventually developed his own witty personality. Because he was the ship's only doctor, he was given more access to the ship, more opportunities (including the writing of a book) and eventually, he chose his own name.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

"Seems I've found myself on the voyage of the damned."

(3) Q
This...person/creature/species appears in many of the Star Trek series starting with The Next Generation. He is constantly causing problems. Picard thinks of Q as an annoyance, and Q often is surprised by Picard and the other humans he encounters.

"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you oughtta go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it's not for the timid."

(4) Star Trek Voyager - Year of Hell
Voyager meets a ship called the Krenim who threatens to destroy them. However, , as the ship's weapons prove useless against Voyager's hull, Janeway ignores the ship. Then, a wave of temporal energy hits both ships - making the Krenim vessel bigger and more powerful, and reducing Voyager to a severely damaged state. Janeway takes advantage of Voyager's speed and escapes.
However, Voyager begins a running battle with many Krenim ships over a period of two months, suffering heavy damages and casualties. When they attract the attention of the Krenim 'Time Ship', the gigantic ship-based temporal weapon which is causing the temporal waves.
Krenim scientist Annorax had built the ship to cause "temporal incursions" to be used to erase events from history in order to strengthen the Krenim Imperium. However, the resulting changes instead caused a plague which killed millions of Krenim, including Annorax's wife, and Annorax has been seeking a full restoration of his species for the past 200 years. Annorax decides to destroy Voyager due to the temporal distortions caused by its shields. Figuring that the true timeline will be restored if the Krenim ship is destroyed, Janeway orders the fleet to drop their temporal shields and rams Voyager into the time-ship while it is powering up for another temporal incursion, destroying Voyager and causing the time ship's temporal core to destabilize and resetting the timeline to the day Voyager first encountered the temporal waves.

(5) Star Trek The Next Generation - The Game
A new game is introduced on ship and everyone except Cadet Wesley Crusher, is playing it. However, it addicts people who play it by stimulating the pleasure centers of their brains when they successfully complete each level.
At the conclusion of the episode, Data frees the rest of the crew from their mind-controlled state by flashing pulses of light in their faces from a handheld lamp. The crew is then able to discern the purpose of the game: It rendered them extremely susceptible to the power of suggestion, compelling them to aid the games' creators—the Ktarians—in an attempt to take control of the Enterprise, but Picard captures and defeats the Ktarian vessel.

Most information taken from Wikipedia.

Clarissa asks...

Rarely do I hold contests because (a) I'm a poor writer and (b) I spend a lot on books. So here's the question:  

What would you prefer to see on my blog:

(a) contests for amazon gift certificates or other prizes 

or

(b) would you prefer I spend my money buying books written by fellow bloggers and giving reviews on them?

Great Critique Sites

I know that I should be promoting my own site above all other but I'm not like that...so, here are some sites you might want to check out if you can't find what you're looking for here... (Click the icon to be taken to each site.)

This is my main critique site. I have met many great partners on this site, some you know like Doralynn and JL Campbell.
Con: This site cost money to join. Unless you want to just critique. Also, it's reliant on a reciprocal program, you critique, you get critiqued. However, most sites are like that. Pro: There are a lot of great writers on this site and because you have to pay, the writers are serious about their work and your work. Also, there are a lot of great contests where you can win money or publication.

Book Country is a place where readers and writers of genre fiction come together to read original fiction, post work or comments, and make a name for themselves. Our free community is a creative and supportive space where fiction writers and readers can give and receive constructive criticism, discover new and entertaining books, discuss and share tips and experiences, and learn about the publishing industry. Book Country aims to be useful, egalitarian, and merit-based while fostering an atmosphere of encouragement and creativity. - From Book Country Site.

Basically, once you've signed up for the site, you critique other people's work to get a certain number of 'points.' Once you've gained enough points, you can post your own work. The community is great, and the critiquers offer useful, insightful advice. The website is easy to navigate, and you can easily keep track of critiques you've given and received, which is not true for all sites. Scribophile has a "story queue" feature that makes it easy to pick which story you want to read next. Virtually all stories posted receive critiques. Also has contests. - From this website.

authonomy^TM is a brand new writing community site for writers, readers and publishers, conceived and developed by book editors at HarperCollins. We want to flush out the brightest, freshest new literature around - we’re glad you stopped by.
If you’re a writer, authonomy is the place to show your face – and show off your writing on the web. Whether you’re unpublished, self-published, looking to get published, or just getting started, all you need is a few chapters to start building your profile online, and start connecting with the authonomy writing community. - From the authonomy site.

Ladies Who Critique is a critique partner matching site for writers of all levels – published, unpublished, aspiring, hobbyists, even closet writers or complete newbies!
Think of it like a dating website, but ‘The One’ is your perfect critique partner. You can find ‘The One’ by searching for members based on the genre they write, their writing and critiquing experience, interests and more. Ladies Who Critique is completely free – and always will be! - From the Ladies Who Critique site.

Mooderino from Moody Writing recommends:
Critique Circle is an online writing workshop for all authors, whether they write literary fiction, genre fiction, articles or short stories. Our purpose is to provide a place for writers to give and receive feedback on their work, and thereby learn from one another. The Critique Circle also includes forums as well as helpful writing tools for manuscript progress, submission tracking, character generation and more.

What does it mean to be a Critique Partner/ Beta Reader?

Lets say I wrote a story...

Jackie and Bill - The Original Story

by Clarissa Draper

Jackie and Bill went up the hill

to fetch a pail of water. 

Jackie feel down and broke her crown

and Bill came tumbling after.

The End

Ah, it's so nice to have the story done! It took me forever to write it and now I want to publish it. Will it sell? Will I make millions? Should I turn it into a screenplay?

Hold on! It's nice that you want to be the next JK Rowlings but you should get it edited/critiqued. You should get some feedback. 

All right, Clarissa, I'll sign up for your extremely awesome and free CP/BR option, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Teach me something!

How to RECEIVE a critique:

DO NOT ask questions such as:

• Did you like the story?
• What did you think of the story?

These questions are too vague.

DO ask questions such as:

• Is the story (at 25 words) too long?
• Does it drag in certain places or should I have prolonged the fall of Jackie?
• Does Bill falling down behind Jackie sound plausible?
• Do you like the chemistry between Jackie and Bill?

Be specific. Know what you're looking for. 

How to GIVE a critique:

DO NOT say things such as:

• I liked the story it was nice.
• You are a good writer.
• You are a horrible writer.
• You shouldn't bother publishing this rubbish.

These words are mean and vague

DO say things such as:

• First of all, these are things I enjoyed about the story...
• I like the use of the verb FETCH however, I don't understand the word CROWN. Perhaps you could use another noun like skull?
• I like the characters Jackie and Bill, however, I wish you added a bit more description. How old are they? Are they related?
• Why are Jackie and Bill fetching water? Why don't they use the tap in their kitchen?
• You kinda left me hanging. What happened to Jackie? Is she all right? I wish the conclusion was stronger.
• What is your target audience?
• You spelled fell as feel...

Be specific.

Easy as pie. Well, eating pie. Making pie is extremely hard to do...or maybe it isn't, I've never made pie. Anyway, I hope this example helped you out. If not, take a look at these links from other more talented websites:

• EHOW: How to give a critique. 
• How to Critique a Manuscript 
• How to Critique and Be Critiqued by Rick Walton

Need A Critique Partner?

This is a critique partner/beta reader week!


Today, I'm going to talk about a new feature of my blog.
Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about what makes a good critique partner/beta reader.
And Thursday, I'll share some other great critique partner/beta reader links. I've found some awesome ones.

A new feature? 

Yes. If you look up to my TABS bar under my MAIN HEADER you will see this:

But why? Why don't you just be a blogger like the other writers?
Well, I wish I could, I really do. However, over the past few months I've been emailed by about half a dozen people requesting I be either a critique partner or beta reader. The problem is, the genres they request I look at are NOT the genres I read or write. It's hard to critique what is not your specialty because there are nuances that each genre has that only a reader/writer will know about. SO..........I've created a critique partner/beta reader finder.

That sounds great, sign me up. What do I do?

It's simple:

1. You go to the tab at the top.
2. Find your genre.
3. Fill out the linky form (make sure you have your email so others can contact you). The linky will lead to your blog so if you forget to put your email address down, put it somewhere on your blog. You may gain followers in the process. Win Win!

I'm not sure if I should sign up...

Here's some examples of people who should sign up:

(a) Hello. My name is Bob and I'm a WRITER. I've got a FINISHED MANUSCRIPT and would love a CP/BR. My email is bobthewriter @ gmail. com.
(b) Hello. My name is Sandra and I'm a WRITER. I've got a PARTIALLY-FINISHED MANUSCRIPT and would love a CP/BR to see where I'm going wrong. Perhaps we could exchange chapter or section for chapter or section? My email is sandrathewriter @ gmail. com.
(c) Hello. My name is Pat and I wanna be a WRITER. I've got a NO MANUSCRIPT but would love to be a BR to learn how best to write. I read a lot of this genre so I know what is good. My email is patthewriter @ gmail. com.
(d) Hello. My name is Rusty and I'm a READER. I love reading (insert genre) and would love to be a BR. My email is rustythereader @ gmail. com.
(e) Hello. My name is Clair and I'm a BLOGGER. I know writers need help in this (insert genre) and would love to be a BR. My email is clairthehelper @ gmail. com.

And here is a list of who should not sign up:
(f) Hello. My name is Dick and I'm a LINKY LOVER. I don't really love to help but I LOVE LINKIES and will fill them out because I want to have lots of followers and people visiting my site. My email is i'mabotherandaspammer @ gmail. com.

Well, I'm worried someone will take my manuscript and call it their own...

It's possible that could happen, but rare. Read this post by Brigid Kemmerer: "Plagiarism and theft, and why I don't worry about either".

I'm Off Today...

I have to go out of town (I'm heading for Texas!) so I won't be posting until tomorrow. But, come back because I have a fun week in store. If you want a sneak peek, you can check out my new page at the top "Critique Partners/Beta Readers" and I will explain more tomorrow. I will leave you with some funny photos from Engrish.com

 

Clarissa Judges A Book By Its Cover: Part VI - Favorite Book Covers

1. Monday - Background Colors
2. Tuesday - Background Pictures (Photo vs. Art)
3. Wednesday - Font
4. Thursday - Layout
5. Friday - Cover Series
6. Saturday - My favorite book covers.

 PART SIX - FAVORITE COVERS

I thought today we would go through some of our favorite covers.


Mason Canyon likes this cover:  
Doralynn Kennedy likes this cover:  
Carol Riggs likes:
Isis Rushdan likes this cover:
Marce likes this cover:
Me? I like these covers:

Hope you enjoyed the series. Come back next week for a new series on critiquing.