Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Okay, here’s an update on my iTunes journey and my book travels. I spent all afternoon studying and figuring this and that all out. I even managed to change the sizes of 6 books in my attempt of getting them ready for the iTunes journey. This means I have 8 more to change.

I managed, after a few stumbling blocks to get one book ready for the Apple store, which is being distributed through allromance/omnilit. My new 1400 wide x2100 tall cover image submitted along with the epub file. I had to convert the pdf file for that. I ended up downloading Calibre to my computer, thinking that’s how I will do my file conversions. However, that was a tad bit confusing. So I ended up using an online-file converter site, which proved to be easier. At least the file seems to working.

Anyway, I went ahead and uploaded these two new files to my Omnilit book page, and lo and behold, right by my title that I was working on it says……ready for distribution to iTunes. Before, that iTunes category had nothing in it. It even gives the date that the book is showing as ready for distribution, which is today, April 20th. So far, so good wouldn’t you say?

Well, not so fast, because it will take 24 hours or so for the book to hop on over to iTunes, after they review everything, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they give me the green light. If they do……I will proceed to the next title and get it ready.

So, how do you like this update, are you following and keeping up with me.

See what you have to do when you become a digital author?

What’s New? Curb Appeal in Print Books

I’ve been trying to wait with patience to unveil the new print versions of my books, waiting for them to appear on Amazon like the ebooks, which are already live. While waiting I hopped on over to Barnes and Noble to get my books set up over there. Authors have to make their rounds you know. I am pleased to announce that some of my books are live there as well. Including two of the updated books that I’m waiting on to show up on Amazon. How did that happen? Needless to say, I had to make some inquiries today because I have questions. Two days ago, I uploaded a brand new NookBook for Barnes &Noble. It’s in the process of being published. So you can look for “Spring Where Are You?” to appear on their shelf within the next couple of days. Meanwhile….let me give you a sneak preview of the book cover change coming to Amazon and hopefully to Barnes & Nobles. Same great stories, but with a new look, which I call “Curb Appeal.” New Look of print books, coming soon to Amazon and Barnes &Noble. Be on the look out for them.

Now it is easier to see the titles when I promote….. I approve!

What’s Up?

I am here because I feel I should be blogging about something, but not sure what. I’ve been promoting books and washing clothes for the last hour or so. What a combination of tasks! I suppose what I should be doing is working on the new book that I’ve started. However, it is sitting idle, waiting in the sidebars…waiting for me to get back to it. I’m thinking the main character is going to starting screaming at me any day now; asking me “what’s up?”.

Hey, now that is a good topic for today….What’s up? I think I will make that my title for this post….so with that, let me ask you…What’s up, bloggers,  readers, writers, publishers and authors? Is your day going just as you have planned?

The things I started off doing today, was not planned. It was like a spur of the moment kind of thing. I just jumped into it without thinking or making a to do list schedule. Now I have sorted clothes all over the bedroom floor, waiting their turn for the washer and dryer. However, my book promoting for today is done, not unless I decide at the last minute to repeat myself. How and where do you promote your books authors? I’ve joined quite a few online groups through Facebook. I just be promoting all over the place, including Twitter and Google+. My Facebook wall runneth over. LOL.

Here’s a question for anyone who would like to answer, for I be promoting here too. I know I have a lot of readers and followers, so let’s make a game of this on this cold, dreary winter’s day. Let’s see how many of you can name my book titles. Do you want to play along?  Can you name them without looking? Let’s see how far you get.

Name My Titles

So Many Books……

That’s right, so many books and just not enough time to read them all!

I was just thumbing through Google search and found so many titles of children and teen books. It just blew my mind of how many I haven’t read. So guess what I did. I made a list of titles that date all the way back to…800.Bc to the 21st century. Now mind you, there was no way I could list all those book, I’d be typing for days and this blog would be way too long. So, I just made a short list of the titles that I am familiar with while growing up. And then I made a title list of today’s African American books for young readers. Can you guess what’s coming next after I list all these titles? You will just have to wait and see. Anyway, look through the list that I concocted and see if the classic titles are familiar to you. Which ones have you read and which is your favorite of these old time classics? Well, here we go!

Aesop’s Fables-Tales of Mother Goose- Little Goody Two Shoes- Children of the New Forest-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz-Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm-The Cat in the Hat-To Kill a Mockingbird-A Taste of Blackberries
Little House on the Prairie– Charlotte’s Web– A Wrinkle in Time-The Secret Garden-Little Women-Matilda-Curious George-Flowers in the Attic- The Monster at the End of the Book. The bold highlighted ones are the ones I’ve read as a child.

AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN BOOKS
The Story of Ruby Bridges- A Sweet Smell of Roses- The Patchwork Quilt-Through My Eyes-Amazing Grace-Momma I Want to Sing-Shortcut-Cousins- Tar Beach-Aunt Flossie’s Hats(and Crab Cakes Later)
With these titles, I believe I will be adding more books to my kindle list of reads. These titles look mighty tasty to me.

OUR BOOKS for Young Readers: Author Winona Rasheed and Catherine Burr on Amazon.com

My Author Websites

Well guess what, I now have two author websites that I am working with. As you can see, I get carried away most all of the time when I do something. All because I enjoy what I do. But, does an author need two websites? What is your opinion?

These websites are indeed different from one another. One has music on a few pages along with informative content. Both have blogs, and one even has the speaking characters on it that I just figured out how to use today. Both have been updated as well. So which one do you think I am leaning towards if I make a decision to let one go?

Take a look at them both and let me know which one you like or prefer. Which one is more informative? And, do you think I have the right information? Let me know if something is lacking and where. If anything, how and what would you improve or change about a particular website? I’m anxious for some input.

Well, that’s it for today. Being creative wears you out. LOL

http://rasheedwinona.wix.com/struttin-my-stuff-2

http://born2write.weebly.com

CREATESPACE

Well, I just put my dinner in the oven, so I have a few minutes to blog for a little bit. Time flies when you are having fun. And when I say fun I am talking about bringing my old books from one place and transferring them to another. With this move, I am hoping that they will get more exposure since I’ve updated everything about them.

I guess you can say I have a new book, rather new books that will be coming out soon. Two done and in the review process and now I have one more to go. I am loving how they look and the changes I made with them, including the titles and covers.

So glad I had my files ready to take over to Createspace. As you can see, I keep everything, though sometimes I have to dig deep to find what I do with things. But none the less, I found all of my files. I am doing a happy dance.
In a little bit, I will have my proof copies so I can see how they really turned out. But so far, so good.

Createspace is so easy to work with when you are publishing your own books. They make publishing fun. I must say, the first time I used them, it was complicated. But I am guessing the more you use it, the better you become at knowing what you are doing. At least that’s how it works with me.

I remember the first time my files came back with errors that needed to be fixed…that drove me nuts trying to fix them. (I didn’t know what I was doing) I bet I had over 20 errors alone in set up. Well, with the last two books that I uploaded with them yesterday and today. I was relieved to see that the files only had 4 errors in one and 5 in another. Best of all, they were easy fixes. So, I am getting the hang of things as an independent author.

Let’s just say that there is nothing wrong with doing it yourself and doing it your way. When you do dive into this experience, you learn a lot and I am all for learning new stuff. So, although I have been published before by the traditional way, I have also self published as I go about getting my books into the hands of children, young adults and the parents of these kids. And you know what, when you see your published book in your hands, you can’t tell the difference between a traditional publisher and a self publisher. And you know what else, both types of books are available on Amazon. I know because a few of my self-published babies are there, right along with the others that bare the name of a publishing house.

You can see there is no difference, no prejudice because both kinds sell if the book is interesting to the buyer. Just like you can get eBook versions as well as print versions from a traditional publisher, you can get the same for your books as a self-publisher. Self publishing is just an easier route to take when you want to by pass all the hoopla and waiting for your manuscript to get seen and then waiting for a response. We are some impatient human beings, now aren’t we? We want everything instantly. Oh well, that’s a different story.

As soon as my 2nd edition books are ready, I will show them off and tell you where you can get a copy. Stay tuned.

E-book Sells and More

Well this is good news, it is looking like people are really enjoying the reading option of e-books on Kindles; after all in today’s modern society of technology and electronic gadgets, you no longer have to lug around an arm load of physical books when you get in a reading mood. It’s so convenient when you are away from home to just pull out your reading device because all of your books are stored there, taking the strain off your shoulders and back from carrying books here and there; for instance, like when you go on vacation, or when you are riding on a plane or on a train, or if you are just relaxing at the beach or the side of a pool. You have to admit, those electronic reading devices come in handy.

After checking my books stats today and I am happy to say, that two of my books are still holding their own in the e-book world on Amazon dot com. People are buying the e-book versions of “A New Home for Her Cubs,” and “Broken Voices.” One book is ranking at 43, while the other is 87 on the best seller list in different categories. Can you guess which one is #43? Anyway, out of 11 books published, 2 best sellers isn’t bad. I am not complaining. As a matter of fact, I have a smile on my face. So to all of those reading folks keeping these two books listed on the 100 best seller list, I say thank you. I am full of gratitude. I write the story, but it is the readers who make the books stand out.

Now, with all that being said, there’s one more thing you can do. It’s not hard and will only take a few minutes of your time; and this is something that every author needs to happen when readers engage themselves in the author’s books. We need reviews. I need reviews of what you read. It doesn’t have to be long, you aren’t writing an essay. Just something simply that says what you feel about the book. If you enjoyed it or not, good or bad. However, remember constructive criticism goes a long way. You never want to bash an author, so be nice with your words. So please, take a moment and go to the Amazon page where the book title and cover are showing and leave a review, not just for me, but for others to read and decide if they want to read the book too. If you do that, I will dance on table tops for you….well maybe not. But I will say THANK YOU with a humbled heart.

Visit my new website: http://www.wbrasheed.com

Honorable Mentions

Sitting at my desk in robe and jammies and guess what is on my mind. Let me tell you because you are taking too long to guess. The hot topic on my mind today is authors and their books. I am so appreciative of writers/authors because I like to read as well as write. But with my passion of writing, I’ve been doing more of that lately than reading. And when you write, most often what you have in mind is publishing when the writing is complete; which takes you into another new and exciting world, that also includes promoting. When you publish a book, it is the author’s responsibility to inspire and entice potential readers. How else will readers be drawn to your books if you don’t tell them about it, letting them know it is available. After you do that, it is such a fascinating feeling to watch the rankings of your priceless pieces on such places as Amazon.com. Ranks that let you know that people are buying and reading your book or books all because you took the time to promote.

Along my writing journey, I’ve met quite a few people along the way, including inspiring publishers and intriguing new authors. Today I will talk of two such persons, because I admire them; therefore, I am giving them an honorable mention on my blog to show just how much this writer/author appreciates their works and their friendships.

Today’s Literary Women who made a difference with what we read, Catherine Burr of New Line Press and Author Dragica Lord.

Now let me step back, way back into the past before I continue, because I have to go there, before I can get to here in the 21st century; after all, I’m connecting the two. In the past, somewhere during the 50’s and 60’s we enjoyed stories for children such as, Charlotte’s Web, The Cat in The Hat, Miracles on Maple Hill and Madeline’s Rescue. Our young adult reads included such things as That was Then, This is Now, Little House on the Prairie and The Earth Witch. As adults back then, we enjoyed titles such as Midnight at Marble Arch, A Sensible Life, Behind Attic Walls and Gambling on Love. All were great books for that time period. Have you read any of these titles? If so, I bet they are etched in your mind like the story of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. You don’t forget your favorites.

However, for the 21st century, we have new titles and new authors to fall in love with. Books that are just waiting to become part of your library because they are well worth the read and worthy of being deemed as “favorites,” at this day in time. Modern stories for modern day people who enjoy Kindle, iTunes and Nook Book reads as well as print books.

Catherine Burr-I mention her because she inspires me as a publisher and mentor, she is also an author and a fabulous one at that. Being acquainted with her is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me as an author. You will be impressed by the titles and the stories behind her covers. She has books for all ages. Some of her titles include: GOD LOVES ME, SHADOW CAT SERIES, GOD LOVES ME TOO, PARENTING HUMOR: MOTHERHOOD MOMENTS, DESIRES AND DECEPTIONS, SILICON SECRETS AND ORCHIDS TO DIE FOR. Catherine Burr is a name you should never forget when you are looking for that ideal book. She has you covered from children to adult in great reading material. Catherine Burr knows her stuff and presents it well.

Author Dragica Lord-In my eyesight, this author is rising in ranks, she is a marvelous writer and a dear friend. Her artistic work is spilling over in modern reads for today’s modern time readers. She too has books for young adults and the older generation. This author definitely has a way with words. Her imagination is awesome, taking you on a magical carpet ride with her fiction that sometimes deals with fantasy, true to life and a lot of drama. As a matter of fact, our latest books seemed to be running neck to neck. Our publishing feat being accomplished one day apart of one another. When it happened, we were both doing the happy dance in cyberspace. Her titles includes such things as: INNOCENT OF TRIBULATION, THE CREZCHEK FILES (opening statement), PHACEBOOK DRAMA AND CHILDREN OF SAINT CLOUD. So, the next time you are looking for a great read, remember her name too when you are browsing new titles and authors.

These two women are spectacular in what they do. Therefore, I bring them into the spotlight.

Just A Little Me Chat

Wow, here it is Wednesday, in the middle of the week. I start my day with my coffee and sitting down planning my day. I decided not to write, instead I was just going to jump right in and do housework, cleaning and washing clothes, dusting…that kind of stuff; because I knew if I sat down to work on my manuscript, nothing was going to get done, especially since I am working on the last chapter. So, I decided to let that work simmer for a day or two. When I worked on that project yesterday, I tell you, I was so wore out from plotting, thinking and writing I just needed to chill out because my entire body felt wiped out.

Anyway, I was late checking my email for today and when I finally made it through all of them, two particular ones stood out in my mind and made me a happy writer/author today. Talk about somebody being on cloud 9 (and that would be me), the email just made my day. Here I am not in my writing mode, but doing something else and I receive an author award from the best publisher on earth, New Line Press. I am thrilled beyond words. When things happen like this, it makes you proud to be an author and doing what you love to do best and that is write!  This award keeps me inspired to keep on doing what I am doing. However, the way I feel about writing and creating memorable books for the young to read, I’d continue my craft even if no one recognized me ever, because this is what I am meant to do. I love being a storyteller and I love the idea of leaving my mark on the world. With one book at a time, I believe I am doing just that….fulfilling my dreams and accomplishing my goals and being grateful to the persons helping me get there. People who believe in me and love what I do.

With the reward that I received today, I am grateful to New Line Press and Catherine Burr. I’ve learned a lot being a part of this team and I am still learning and experiencing from the best. I couldn’t have done it without you. So I thank you for taking me under your wings and helping me to fly with my craft.  Today, I salute You!

 

 

Hello, It’s Me Again….

Well, if you are a follower of me and you’ve been wondering where I’ve been; let me tell you…I’ve been busy and not only that……I couldn’t remember how to log into this site. Well now, I’ve written everything down this time in my handy little notebook and hopefully I will be able to get back into it the next time I decide to stop by and post something.

It can get mind boggling when you have quite a few websites to blog in. Sometimes, you forget all about the oldies but goodies when you are trying out something new and I think that’s what happened to me. As a matter of fact, I have 3 Word Press sites now that I try to manage. One gives me a big headache trying to log in. The one that gives me difficulty is my very first one. However, I actually don’t run that one, someone else keeps it updated for me. The only thing that I am in charge of is my blog content. But, can’t access the blog there because the password and user name is messed up. I will have to figure it all out and find where the error is.

I’m asking, can one have too many blogs and too many websites when you are a writer/author?

Well I do have an update at this time to share with you. Remember when I had 6 books on my publishing list? Well, I now have 7. Yeppers, a new book was released in September, or was it October…. Another new book for the kid crowd. I’m proud of this book to0, because this is my first fully illustrated piece of reading. I have to admit it is charming and cute. I love it and I hope you will love it too. It is called “Itchy Scratchy Spots”.  It is a good read for young readers. Well shoot! I need to upload the cover, but for some reason I can’t find where to do that. Mercy me!

Well, look what I just did, I figured it out. Sometimes, I can be so smart. LOL  Yes, this book like the others can be found on Amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble.com.  Rudy, the little girl on the cover will have you giggling as you turn the pages. I love happy stories, don’t you? Every child should have a book that puts a smile on their face when they are reading and the reader should be anticipating the next move as they turn the pages. This book will do that.

Oh guess what else is in the news, “A New Home for her Cubs” and “Broken Voices” are making the Europe scene. They are now available in places like the UK, France, Germany, Italy and even Japan. Boy I tell you, my characters are happy about that and so am I.  This is just an amazing ride!

Oh, and I am not done yet….a writer/author never comes to an end, not until he or she can no longer write and create. I submitted two new stories and I am keeping my fingers crossed in have them accepted for publishing.

I love being an author! It defines who I am, giving me a purpose. Do you have a purpose in life? I am so glad I found mine, proving that it is never to late to discover what you are meant to be and what you are meant to do.

Well, gotta end this so I can see what this post is going to look like. I hope to hear from you, especially if you take the time to read this.