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Howdy, gang.

Yes, it's true. We're going to be closed for 10 days, if you're reading this before 12/23/16, or we already are, if you're stumbling onto our front steps, after noon on December 23rd, 2016. Every year, for the last three months of the year, we endure horribly long working days, rush book after rush book, and just all-round craziness. So, come the Christmas holiday, we take a break, intended to be about 10 days. We call this the Midwinter Downtime.  That means that the ADMIN offices are closed. No phones, no email, no nuttin'!

If you have a book in production with us, fear not. We have a couple of fellows who needed some extra shekels this year, who asked to pick up some hours during the Downtime. They'll be working on your books, while the rest of us are off recharging our batteries.

Please note: as whacky as this sounds, the phone company tells us that our voicemail is NOT working. If you don't reach someone, when you call, please, just send us an email instead. I promise that I will cheerfully call you when we get back. And we won't chase you around, either; you don't have to worry that if you change your mind, or go with someone else, that we'll be calling you and calling you. We're just not built that way. We don't harass people.  It's not who we are.  You can call or email and leave your contact information in perfect confidence that we'll treat you, as we wish to be treated.  No excuses, no whining, no kidding.   

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, happy holidays to All, and to All, a Good Night!

We'll see you next year!  

Closed for the 24 Hours of LeMans, 2017

Saturday June 17th-Sunday June 18th. 

Yes, it's true. We're going to be closed for 2 whole days.  Every year, we get together, shut the office, pop the popcorn, get plenty of sleep on Friday night, because come Saturday morning...it's the 24 Hours of Le Mans, arguably the greatest sportscar endurance test in all of racing.  We stay awake for every minute--all 24 hours of it--and we drag ourselves in, come Monday morning.

That means that the ADMIN offices are closed. No phones, no email, no nuttin'!

If you have a book in production with us, fear not. Many of the bookmakers have zero interest in the race (inconceivable!). They'll be working on your books, while the rest of us are off rooting for our favorite teams and drivers.

If you call while we're off, please, just send us an email instead. I promise that I will cheerfully call you when we get back. And we won't chase you around, either; you don't have to worry that if you change your mind, or go with someone else, that we'll be calling you and calling you. We're just not built that way. We don't harass people.  It's not who we are.  You can call or email and leave your contact information in perfect confidence that we'll treat you, as we wish to be treated.  No excuses, no whining, no kidding.   

We'll see you on Monday!  

 

 

That poor bastard was the victim of the Double Whammy.  First, he's pirated, and then, to rub salt into the wound, the mere act of him being pirated causes Amazon to question the legitimacy of his publishing the Boxed Set!  Talk about ignominy. Another wrote:

"We are trying to publish a couple of books on KPD which my husband wrote in 2012. They have told us we need to prove we have publishing rights, but don't help with insight as to how to accomplish this. Say they can only respond to publisher!" 

That one goes on to say that she can't get anywhere with Amazon because they don't accept that her husband is the publisher. What the hell do you do, if you're in that situation?

Now, the only way that this would be occurring is if someone else--we'll call that thief Darth Dickhead--files a claim, with Amazon, that your work is actually their work. So...how do you prove that you're you? How do you prove that you wrote your own book?

This is simply a newer, digital form of a type of thievery that's been around forever, known as claim-jumping.  If you're unfamiliar with the term, claim-jumping is when someone else claims to own or have rights to property that you have already claimed as your own.  

The bigger and easier-to-answer question is: how can you easily prevent this from happening?

The simple answer is, you can't.  Any idiot--any Darth Dickhead--can click a button on Amazon's website and claim that your Intellectual Property--your book--is theirs.  In this day and age, the sound of a Light Saber swooshing has been replaced with the sound of a click.  The click that will deprive you of your rights.  

Click below, on "Read More," to answer the question, "How Can You Protect Your Books?"

nce your print book is in production with us for layout, it's time to think about the creation of your full cover--front, back, and spine. You can't just take three pieces to Createspace and hope that they'll get your cover right. Instead, you or your cover designer will go here: Createspace Cover Template Maker.

You or s/he will input your page count and your paper type. Obviously, if you have just started your print layout, you probably won't have a number for your total page count yet. If not, wait for that figure, from your designer, and then input it into the Template maker. You'll get back a PDF template, all in one piece.

As you can see from the image, it's hardly difficult.  You will already know your trim size, and you've probably already thought about what paper you want.  (Note:  if you have images of any kind, it is usually dramatically better to choose WHITE, rather than CREAM.  Particularly if you have B&W images!  Just a handy tidbit of information for you.) 

Your cover designer will then create your final print book cover, marrying the front, back and spine portions of her design. She'll give that back to you in PDF form. When you are ready to publish your book, you'll upload the PDF of the interior and the PDF of the exterior. Createspace then binds the cover to the interior when making your book--and you're off and running.

Note: experienced authors will do many of the Createspace steps in the Dashboard before they have their final PDF or PDFs. We heartily endorse that idea, both for your print book and your eBook. Taking care of the simple, but important, things while you are in production makes sense. Oftentimes, new authors get so excited over a book that they get too rushed to do the Dashboard items (like categories, keywords, the description/blurbs) correctly, or with the care that will help you get your book sold.

Good luck!

Here at Booknook.Biz, we've been doing this for quite a while now.  One thing I can't help but notice is that the same questions get asked at the KDP Publisher's forums, over and over again.  To help prospective publishers, I'm going to answer them here.

Do I have to register my copyright before I publish?  

No, you don't.  In the United States of America, your book is copyrighted as soon as you've completed writing it.  If your book is stolen/pirated, however, you can't file suit until the copyright is registered, which you can do with $35 and the link to ECO, the Electronic Copyright Office. Here's the link to ECO and here's a link to the Tutorial. 

Does enrolling in KDP mean I can't sell my books anywhere else?

 No, it doesn't.  If you enter your book in the KDP, you can sell it any place you'd like (Barnes & Noble, iBooks, KoboBoks, etc.).  The KDP contract does stipulate that you can't sell your eBook at a lower price anywhere else.  If Amazon discovers that you are selling your book for less somewhere else, they'll lower the price of your book (price-match) for the duration that the book is lower-priced elsewhere.  If you join KDP Select, however, then, yes--you are required to give exclusivity for 90 days in return for the features of the KDP Select Program. These features include the ability to make your book free for any five days out of the 90, and capacity to join other marketing programs. 

(Con't.)