Suicide is a Tax Write-Off Now Available on Kindle and Lulu

As a dry run to prepare for the publication of Evermore: Call of the Nocturne as well as a way to promote it, I have made one of my short stories, Suicide is a Tax Write-Off, available for download on the Kindle Store and on Lulu.com. While my goal was to give away the short story for free, the Kindle Store mandates a minimum price of $0.99. However, the short story is free on Lulu and will also be free on the iBookstore when it passes through the approval process. Much to my surprise, the publication process with both Lulu and Kindle was easier than I thought. All I needed was:

  1. The .epub version of the manuscript.
  2. An ISBN
  3. A short description of the book

That's it really. It took less than a couple of hours to set everything up and the book was on the store within a couple of hours. I had plenty of time to play around creating my Kindle Author page, although that made me realize that I need to get a better picture of myself. The process to get it on the iBookstore (via Lulu) takes a little bit longer because it needs to be reviewed by both Apple and Lulu. In short, the process was short, easy to understand and easy to do. I can't wait to repeat the process with Evermore: Call of the Nocturne. Anyway, I hope that you all like the short story and that it wets your appetite for more. I'll have more posts soon walking you through the publication process. Have a great night.

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Cover Art - Suicide is a Tax Write-Off

Wow, my apologies. It has been almost too months since my last post. Between editing the final version of E:CotN, going home for a family reunion, taking a camping trip, and the tribulations of life, I have had great difficulty in finding the time to post on this website. With the end of a busy summer, I should be able to write with more frequency from here on in.The big news is that I'm planning to release a short story that I wrote way, way, way back in 1997 for free on Kindle. This will give people a chance to get to know my writing and for me to get some experience with the steps of digital self-publishing before I release E:CotN.One of these steps is to commission cover art for the story. When publishing for Amazon, cover art is essential. It is your firs to opportunity to grab the attention of the reader and get him interested in your story.Since I have no artistic talents whatsoever, my editor Erin Stropes suggested that I work with Jordan Knoll, a graphic designer based out of Toronto. Working with him was great. We were able to pass ideas back and forth until we came up with the concept that you see above. By using a discarded receipt, Jordan was able able to create an interesting image that tells the reader a great deal about the story without revealing the plot. I'm really happy with it. Jordan did some great work on it.Next, I'll have to purchase an ISBN for it and upload it to the Amazon Digital Text Platform. I had also wanted to upload it to iBooks, but to do so I have to charge a minimum price of 99 cents. As I wish to give away the short story for free to promote my upcoming novel, I don't really feel it is appropriate to charge for one platform and not another. So for now, it will be Kindle-exclusive.Anyway, I hope that all of you like it. I'll be spending the next week plowing through Amelia's edits on E:CotN. I look forward to the day when this project is finally completed.

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