Tag: Apple

Absent-minded = ME!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Oh GOD!  I just realised I never put the sample chapters of Ready or Not up on the site!  And, if Love or Lust‘s sample is anything to go by people do like to read those before buying.

I’m terribly sorry.  I got distracted by issues with the print edition, and various things simply classified as ‘Life’.

It’ll take a little bit to get it set up in a way that doesn’t fight with WordPress, but I’ll have it up later today or sometime tomorrow.

#Ashamed

Upadate: Sample is up.

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Dropping Kobo support

Published on by Jaye2 Comments
Kobo eReader
Kobo eReader (Photo credit: ndh)

I like supporting various e-readers and their associated services.  It’s, frankly, not usually very difficult.

Sadly, Kobo has decided to make it so.  For no reason I can fathom they do not accept ePub files that even the most exacting alternatives accept without question and that work on their App (I don’t have one of their devices so have no idea), won’t accept a MOBI file that Amazon took no issue with, and does very strange things when fed a raw .doc/.docx file.  Therefore, while Love or Lust will continue to be sold there for the foreseeable future, Ready or Not will not be carried there nor will any future books.

I’m sorry.

If you’re a Kobo user you can get ePub copies from Apple, DriveThru Fiction, and Smashwords.  Nook is also an ePub version, but it can be awkward to get at the file, though not impossible — so Barnes & Noble is another source of the file.  I do not use DRM so the file you get from any of those sources will play happily with your device so long as Kobo continues to support standard ePub format.  My personal recommendation is not-Smashwords as the formatting gets a little weird after the trip through their “meat grinder” which is as horrible as it sounds.

I am actually very sad to be leaving Kobo, and I may return some day if their service to the publisher/author improves.  They are almost as respectful to their content providers as Apple and offer many of the same services.  Only DriveThru Fiction can remotely say the same.  Still I have no intention to spend hours or even days pulling my hair out trying to track down its various imagined code errors.

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Ready or Not pre-orders

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Ready or Not (concept only)Well, it’s finally done with my editor.  A quick proofread by me and some arguing with the various retailers, then the book will be available.

Smashwords and iBooks allow pre-orders, though it is not yet listed with Apple.  Smashwords is another story.

I’ll have the first two chapters up for samples sometime in the next couple of days.

The release is scheduled for 26 July.  Even if Apple doesn’t get the pre-order set up before then, the book ought to be available for purchase and download by then.

The other retailers: Kobo, DriveThru Fiction, All Romance eBooks, Kindle, and Nook will start showing up on that date as they each complete their own listing processing.

There, of course, will also be a print edition; and most likely a Goodreads give-away for an autographed copy or two.

Love or Lust will be reduced to us$2.99, Ready or Not will be us$3.99 their print editions will remain us$17.99.

Hope you will enjoy it as much as you did book 1.  It was certainly a lot of fun to write if not nearly so much fun to edit.  Book 3 still has no title, but one will be announced by the end of the year.

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The end is in sight!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Ready or Not (concept only)First off, my editor should be done with Ready or Not in the next 3 – 5 days.  As soon as I get it I’ll be setting up pre-order on iBooks and Smashwords (the only outlets that allow it) for about 1 – 2 weeks later (it takes a bit of time for Apple to process the upload, they run pretty thorough quality checks on the file to make sure it won’t make your iPad spontaneously combust or something) during which time I’ll give it one more read through and buff.

I’m truly sorry this has taken so long.  Sadly for various personal reasons (see spending a week in hospital and a month on narcotics, thereby unable to interact with my editor), various reasons related to my editor having this unfailing talent for getting terribly ill with a flu during the summer (normally, however, it’s closer to August so wasn’t strictly planned on), and the simply embarrassing number of errors in this book which slowed down the process (seriously, for Love or Lust she was able to get through nearly 2x as many pages in any given hour) it has just taken forever to edit.

This, like its predecessor, will be available in ebook and print from all the same retailers for us$3.99 for ebook and us$17.99 for print (various international pricing available proportioned based on the retail outlet in question).

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Pre-ordery goodnes!!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

So I was poking around on Smashwords today and discovered something wonderful!  They offer pre-order!

This is outrageously awesome.

Now, a few things to bear in mind:  I do not distribute through Smashword’s Premium Catalogue.  I go to each marketplace myself.  Apple, Kobo (if I recall correctly), and (now) Smashwords allows this.  Amazon does not, DriveThru Fiction … I don’t think so, and neither does Nook (unless they’ve changed something, too).  All Romance eBooks, I’m still getting the hang of, they may offer pre-order and I’ve bungled right past it so I won’t hazard a guess either way.

Still — for everywhere I can — I will be putting Ready or Not up for pre-order just as soon as I have a date I’m comfortable it’ll be ready for release on.

I’m almost ill with excitement and nervousness.  I do so sincerely hope you’ll all enjoy it as much or more than Love or Lust!  I’ll warn those who have very strict notions of what a plot is:  this is very much more slice of life; it’s better seen as several little plots carrying the thread of a central theme … and I’ve exhausted everything I remember from literature classes (I loved my high school lit teachers, but loathed the subject … in college I loathed both the professor and subject).  I’ll ask my editor to give me the literary way of saying what it is sometime later today and tell you more tonight or tomorrow.  I’m better at saying what things are about, myself.

P.S. for my fellow WordPressers who still want those neat Zemanta services for related articles, suggested links, suggested tags, etc.  There’s a browser plugin for that!  Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer (oh God, I nearly typed ‘Exploder’ … I’d rather take a lit class than use IE).  Opera is, however, not supported; all other browsers I can think of (Tor, Flock, etc) are modified Firefox, so should be fine to use the one for it.

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Getting fed up with Amazon

Published on by Jaye6 Comments

Warning:  I’m highly annoyed, in a foul mood, and not much inclined to be remotely charitable to a certain major corporation just now.

Well, my 75% off sale is up and going. … except Amazon.

They were one of the first places I set the sale, but they haven’t seen fit to post the new price.

I contacted their support and, after an unprofessionally long wait (most others respond within hours if not minutes, Amazon typically is best measured in days) they replied … the price change page hadn’t loaded properly so a key step was missed. Lovely of then to finally say so this morning. Got it sorted, and it’s been almost 12hrs … still no change. Should I mention that the price hasn’t even dropped through automatic price matching yet?!

This is not my first issue with Amazon, and I imagine it will not be my last. Simply put, they can be decently professional to their consumers, to judge by anecdotes at work, if people need to return or exchange something, but in their inter-professional dealings they are, frankly, insulting. So much so that if they were not currently such a major bookseller that I sell more copies per month there than I do in all other estores combined in a quarter, I’d drop them.

They have the slowest response time when contacted for issues and their responses are less attentive to what was said. Their terms are among the worst in the industry. Their format is obtuse and needlessly complex; not to mention stiflingly proprietary. Their KDP site, while not horrible, is not so intuitive as others. Finally there is the treatment: you are a charity and potential customer, not a serious business interaction – you are inundated with offers for premium services you can buy and denied options afforded to larger publishing houses (pre-orders and certain options that Tor has without exclusivity that little ol’ me mayn’t have).

Why say all of this? Information is a powerful tool. Most people perceive Amazon and Kindle in a very positive light. Certainly they are not Satan manifest, but neither are they the greatest company on Earth.

For those who prefer companies that treat everyone interacting with them with equal respect and professionalism I recommend Apple, Kobo, and the group behind All Romance eBooks (all of whom carry my book).

I’m not saying to cease using Amazon nor to trash your Kindle … but if you are already feeling a bit dissatisfied, perhaps this is one more reason to look at that iPad or similar you’ve been eyeing.

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Finished!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

As I sit here enjoying a bit of pizza while waiting for my power to be restored (gas stove, lights by match … modern gas oven with buttons? Not so much) I’ve hit the end of Ready or Not!!

Okay, I feel very good about what I have. I still have to give it back to my editor, though. Still … depending her own workload this could be out as early as next month, but expect April or May with June on the outside.

I’m thinking I might put Love or Lust on sale to celebrate. I’ll get back to you on that. Sales are a wretch from a cell phone and no computer at the moment.

P.s. Forgive me if my typos are worse than usual, I am using a cell phone.

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iBooks freebie

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Kindle may or may not join this game, I don’t control that so can’t say.

In my effort to test if Apple’s support had corrected my issue setting a sale for my book I have set a 99¢ price that is good through today.  Tomorrow the book will be free for a couple of days.  This is only on iBooks (and anyone else who elects to price match them).>

Please enjoy.

P.S.  this lovely little button below will take you directly to the book on iBooks — and soon, iTunes.

ibooks-button-graphic

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iBooks sales can happen now!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

It turns out the issue I was having with setting up the labour day sale was a glitch in iTunes Connect.  C’est la vie, glitches happen in the best of software.  I’ve heard of Hello World failing to run correct for people.  Computers are semi-daemonic entities.

Well, tomorrow until Saturday Love or Lust will be $0.99 on iBookstore.  And lowered approximately the same degree in most markets.  No, it’s not free.  I might do a free weekend soon, again, for everything.  This $0.99 was an experiment so I could tell tech support if I’m still having trouble.  I’ve got an experimental free set up too, but I’m not saying when }=) Well … not yet.

This new sale is just for a few days and only on iBooks (unless Amazon notices and auto-matches).  But I promise another free that will, this time, include everyone (except Nook and Kindle, since I can’t actually force such sales with them) is coming.

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And less impressed with Nook

Published on by Jaye1 Comment

I’ve never been the world’s biggest fan of the Nook devices or apps, nor B&N‘s publisher tools (first PubIt, now NookPress) for various reasons (not the least of which is their wont to ignore their own field where one puts the ISBN of the eBook — forcing the use of a BNID) and now I’ve found a new reason:  can’t give away the book.

I’ve been looking.  Like Amazon, the lowest you can set the price is 0.99USD, but unlike Amazon there is no “Report lower price” function.

So … to my Nook using readers, you may wish to visit DriveThruFiction or Smaswhords for your free copy.

Kindle users — keep an eye on Amazon for it to go free there — but in the mean time DTF and SW will work for you as well.

Kobo and iBookers, you’ll be fine.  Albeit I, apparently, chose a bad day to think of this idea because iTunes Connect is down for maintenance.  Hopefully it will be back up in time for me to keep you guys in the sale.  If not you’ll get your days offset to Sunday – Wednesday instead of Saturday – Tuesday.  And if you really were looking forward to it on Saturday, DTF and SW options are there.  Or you can use the Kobo version, but only if you also use their app.

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