Dilemma

Printer-friendly version

There is actually more than one of them.

Dilemma 1: As you know, it has become my habit to post stories on Big Closet even though the book is for sale on Amazon. I made the decision long ago that to pay back Erin for giving me a place to hone my writing skills I would never withhold a story from this particular site just so I can make a buck. It has worked to both our benefits. People get to read my stuff for free, but I notice I get sales because people are impatient in waiting for the next post (Which I generally do in 5000 word chunks). Now I am about to publish a children's book. The story is already posted in words (But, I'm Not a Boy). But I have such lovely illustrations. If I post all the illustrations I wonder if anyone will buy the kindle or book version. Normally I wouldn't mind, but the illustrations are not mine and it might not be fair to my illustrator if I cut into her sales. I could post a picture or two a day, but that might get tedious for some and the story would be buried so people might not know it's there.

Dilemma 2: It seems that Smashwords is being a pain in the butt. It won't take my file because it is 14mb and Smashwords only takes 10mb files. That means I might have to reformat everything or how to change resolution. I do have the book going on Kindle, nook, and kobo. But Smashwords seems pretty popular.

Any advise on either is appreciated. Thanks.

Comments

Regarding Smashwords

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

The file size is probably so large because of the illustrations. Try using the compress pictures function in word to down size them and make the whole document smaller. It won't hurt the resolution on ereaders.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann

wow,thanks

I did not realize that was a feature and was afraid I would have to reformat each picture one by one. Yay, you go girl!!!

Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)

Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life

An Alternative

If you find you need to reduce the size of the illustrations individually, Paint.NET is a free image editor that does a great job with format changes and size reduction. While it's a very capable application, there is lots of how too info online.

As to pictures here...

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

Well, that's a consideration you should be concerned about. Ask your illustrator after explaining your rational and then accept her decision. I don't think anyone here would question you on it.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann

What she said

erin's picture

You may have bought the rights, but it is good to respect the artist's wishes. And perhaps she would want you to use SOME of the pictures as teasers and save the others for promoting the book.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.