WHY ARE YOU RE-LAUNCHING YOUR ALREADY PUBLISHED BOOKS?
Copyright 2021 by Lori-Ann Willey
When I first started writing, I
latched onto the first book writing program I found. At the time (2007?), there were few
options. I wrote in Microsoft Word and
then copy/pasted the document into a book program. Instantly, problems were quick to show. It was like throwing a plate onto the floor that
shattered into a gazillion pieces. My organized
stories, paragraphs, and even sentences shattered as well, dispersed throughout
the program pages and in no order at all.
The constant brainstorming
sessions with the program developers resulted in little or no help. They seemed just as baffled. Not only that, but they also admitted that
their program had many flaws. That did
not help my frustration level!
After years of struggling and
going from one book program to another, I learned that the program is being
phased out. Now, I still had a
publisher, but no program. After researching
and contacting the publisher for a list of programs they support, I learned that
the photobook format now supports text-based formats, too! Not only that, but their prices are also
cheaper, AND their formats accepted by the Global Retail Network! Finally!
Cheaper for me, means cheaper for you!
That is until GRN gets ahold of them.
The news gets better! The “new” program allows conversion from the old,
frowned upon program, and they do that for me!
Unfortunately, that other program still had lots of issues and the
conversion was not an easy task. They simply scrunched up the file “as is” and send it via email. Though each book is the same size, its
formatting is different. Their margin
allowances and their fonts were different, too. The other program had automatic headers & footers. Thus, the margin differences. Despite all that, I’ve painstakingly
converted all my text-based books into acceptable Global Retail Network files. Now, one by one, I will submit them to
GRN. Which ones they will accept, I don’t
know, but I’ll try them all.
I will send the following books
shown in the collage as time permits.
Each has forms and money stuff to figure out at the time of
submission. It takes several weeks or
more before I know if they accepted the book, or not. Once it is, the title, my name, and the ISBN
go into a database and can be “picked up” by any bookstore/shop in the
world. Unfortunately, that comes with an
added price! Everyone wants their fair
share of the profit!
The books in this collage were already
self-published and most without an ISBN number.
Now, each will have an ISBN. The
stories within the books DID NOT CHANGE except the font style, the page
margins, and a spelling correction here and there. Due to the difference in margins from one
program to the other, the new program left room for photos. Those are the only changes, though. So, if someone previously bought any of the
books shown in the collage, the stories have NOT changed, though the format did
in a few.
They already removed the original books
from my online bookstore and the “new” books will be added one at a time as I send
them to GRN. Each book will be “FEATURED”
on Facebook for at least 7 days before I send them to GRN. Once sent, despite the “cheapness” of the new program,
GRN jumps the price by $5-$10 by no control of mine, so I am thankful for the
cheaper program as it helps off-set the GRN cost. Until that submission, I have full control
and can offer each at a lower price, thus “FEATURED”.
NOTE - If you are unable to access the bookstore within the next couple of weeks, it is in the process of having a URL change. I'll post the new URL on Facebook and on my website.
