Ebooks Archives - Page 2 of 4

December 12, 2014

Enter a Book Giveaway! (Dec. 12 to 24th)

Do you like good fiction novels? I do.

Do you like contests/giveaways? I do.

Do you like autographed copies of books? I do.

Enter a Giveaway!

Wording Well is pleased to announce that Laying It Out There is currently running a giveaway of The Black Fountain Goddess.

This book is Jean Moynahan’s second novel, and it’s really, really good. (I have a copy of her first book, The Illuminated Vineyard, which is on my list of books to read.)

Read the Book Review

In fact, this novel is so good that I’ve reviewed this book on Goodreads and have also blogged about it, on my author site, Laying It Out There.

Enter the Giveaway!

I’ve have done a few giveaways in the past, but never have I used Rafflecopter to do so.

But there’s a first time for everything!

So I’m using Rafflecopter this time, and I’m really, really hoping to make this giveaway a huge success!

I’d like to invite you to read my review of this book, learn a bit about the author, and enter the contest.

You can do so by visiting this link.

Hurry! Enter NOW!

Win an autographed copy of The Black Fountain Goddess!

November 24, 2014

Readability: How “Readable” is YOUR Writing?

Is your writing “readable”? How do you know?

To introduce the concept of readability, I have some more questions for you.

Have you ever used “big” words in an attempt to seem smarter than you are? Have you ever looked up a word in the dictionary . . . and then had to look up the words found in its definition?

I can see most of you nodding your heads. I can see a few smiles, too. 😉

Now let me ask you:

Have you ever wondered if the words you choose to use are too difficult for others to read and/or understand?
Have you ever wondered what others really think of your writing (whether it’s found in a blog post, an ebook, a novel, an essay, an article, etc.)?
Have you ever read something that was hard to understand (because of all the words you didn’t know the definitions to)?

I bet all of your answers to these questions are “yes.”

But . . . do you know what “readability” really is?

What this post on readability will do for you

This post will:

teach you what readability is
discuss some history behind how readability is measured
indicate the different methods for how readability can be measured
give you links to the free, online readability calculators that writers, bloggers, and freelancers should use
two additional articles you can read to expand your mind, and
it will also mention a brief announcement from Wording Well

You NEED to Consider Readability

Have you ever seriously contemplated the readability of your blog post, books, or articles, and then tailored your writing to your specific audience?

If you are shaking your head shamefully, that’s okay; most people don’t.

Perhaps you didn’t know what to do. Perhaps you didn’t know that you could check the readability of your text.

Perhaps – and this is the more likely option – you’ve never really considered what readability means, how it affects your readers, and how important it actually is.

If you are an author, blogger, writer, freelancer, student (or wannabe author, blogger, writer, freelancer or student), there are a few critical things you should know about readability.

What is Readability?

Readability is the measure of written language that makes it easy to read and understand.

Readability tests, which are mathematical formulas, were designed to assess the suitability of books for students at particular grade levels or ages. They were also meant to save time – because before the formula were used those decisions were made on recommendations of educators and librarians who read the books. These people were taking books already written and figuring out who were the appropriate reading groups.~ Source: All About Readability

The tests were intended to help educators, librarians and publishers make decisions about purchase and sale of books.

Readability, however, is dependent upon many characteristics: age, race, culture, and education. The use of slang also plays a part in readability. I think we all know that each culture (heck, even each generation!) has its own slang words or phrases!

Slang

Slang refers to a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people. To brush up on or learn some American slang, I’d recommend opting to get 10 randomly chosen slang expressions from their database. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn!

Of the 288 factors that were identified, format or design factors were found to be among the three most important clusters of contributors to making a text easier or more difficult to read.

Reading and Writing

One of the reasons I love reading and writing stems from my love for word. When I read and write, I get to be exposed to more words!

When I encounter a word I’ve never heard of, I look it up so that I can add it to my lexicon. I also try to use it correctly in a sentence.

These two practices are something most teachers instruct their students to do in elementary school, and, in fact, were taught to me by my teachers.

They have stuck with me throughout the years, too. I love adding words to my lexicon, and I love using those words properly. When I am writing, I often search for synonyms to use to enhance my writing. However, I try not to use too many “big” words, for two reasons:

Most people won’t understand what I’m saying.
Keeping things simple makes for a more widespread understanding. Most people are not university educated (like I am). Many people cannot read complex sentences. Some people cannot read at all. (Of course, those people won’t be reading this!)

Literacy Statistics

It is estimated that 17-20% of the people in the world cannot read or write. Read More

August 12, 2014

Steps I Took To Self-Publish My Book + An Important Announcement about Wording Well)

Ebook Cover - Risky Issues by Lorraine Reguly

If you have not yet self-published a book but want to, there are certain steps you could take to do so. Most new authors do things haphazardly, however, because they are uninformed of what to do first.

Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Other times, you can listen to someone who has self-published a book and has “been there, done that.”

Self-publishing my book took me a long time only because I procrastinated a lot. In actuality, I could have gotten that darn thing out there a lot sooner than I did. (And yes, I know I shouldn’t call my book “that darn thing” but it’s my book, and I can call it whatever I want!) 😀

Steps I Followed to self-publish (which you should, too)

Here are the steps I followed to self-publish my book.

This link will bring you to my author site… which brings me to my announcement.

An Important Announcement about the future of Wording Well

Dear Reader, I really enjoyed my vacation, and it’s good to be back. 🙂 The time off from blogging allowed me to figure out a few things that have been weighing on my mind.
I have decided that I’m going to refrain from posting information about self-publishing on Wording Well and am going to post it on Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There instead. I’m also going to be posting all future book reviews on my author site as well.

I want Wording Well to focus on offering freelancing tips, writing tips, and blogging tips.

I want my author website to offer book reviews, and tips on self-publishing, and personal stories about me (something previously found on Lorraine Reguly’s Life – the name of this blog before it became Wording Well – but which are still found here on Wording Well, in the archives).

I also need to focus more on my freelance writing and editing business. It’s time that I make these important changes now, especially since my Amazon Author Central page is linked to the blog on my author website. (This page also displays my latest Tweet!)

Originally, when I started blogging, I had no direction. I was still learning what blogging was all about. Granted, I know there are still things to learn (there always is!), but I’ve come a long way since my early blogging days, as I’m now earning money from writing and editing (which I love). 🙂

It’s going to take some time to get both Wording Well and Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There to a point where they are clearly defined and where I want these sites to be, but I know that I can do it. I have diligence. 🙂 Juggling more than one blog is tough, but I know it will get easier with time.

Many bloggers have multiple blogs, depending on their niche.

Although both of my sites pertain to writing, their niches are actually very different (or they will be, soon)! Wording Well is going to have an emphasis on freelancing and blogging, with the niche for Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There having an emphasis on books (whether they are written by me or not!), book reviews, and self-publishing (and all that self-publishing entails, which is a lot).

Furthermore, I’m writing posts about different blogging tips for Dear Blogger at a rate of one per month. I strongly urge you to read them. Often, they begin as posts I’d publish here! However, because I get paid to guest post there, and have a contract to produce posts at this rate, I am not going to publish them here when I can make money publishing them there! (You would do the same thing, if you were me.) But because I know all of you don’t follow that blog, I generally try to write two posts dealing with the same issue, and with my post on Wording Well linking to my posts on Dear Blogger, because the post on Dear Blogger offers more information. It has to; Greg doesn’t pay me for nothing! 😉

What this all means for you

Depending on your particular interests, you might have to follow both of my sites! You might want to follow one or the other. That choice is yours. I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. What I will promise you is that, regardless of when and where I post, I will be completely forthright, honest, and provide you with as much information as I can, in a clear manner.

Also, if one post relates to another, I will link to it. I don’t want you to miss out on important info!

An Invitation for you

Now that I’ve explained what my new site will contain, and when I will be posting things there, I’d like to invite you to visit and follow my new author site, Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There. You might even want to sign up for my author newsletter. 🙂

And please do me a favour and share this post. It’s best if we’re all on the same page. Pun intended. 😉

Thank you.

~Lorraine

August 8, 2014

Waking for Hours: #bookreview

I have met many awesome bloggers and authors online, but what is really cool is when I meet someone who falls out of the “norm” and piques my interest, like Connie Anne McEntee did.

Connie is also the author of Waking For Hours, a book about a teenage boy discovering his sexual identity.

My Review of Waking for Hours (which I posted to both Amazon and Goodreads):

Teenager William – Billy – Miller finds himself in a situation he never dreamt possible: in a love triangle with both a female and a male. As he discovers he is bisexual, he finds himself being polyamorous – having a girlfriend and a boyfriend at the same time.

Initially, Billy seems like an average teenage virgin, until he meets Jools, whom he gets to know during hiking trips and school study dates. As the two boys forge a special friendship, Billy and his girlfriend, Shelly, engage in intercourse for the first time.

Facing teenage struggles, like having to take a bus all the time because he doesn’t have a car, Billy sometimes gets rides from his friends who have vehicles, including his girlfriend, as well as his parents and grandpa, too.

The fun parts of being a teenager are incorporated into this book, including going to parties where Spin the Bottle and Never Have I Ever are played.

Throughout the book, the main character faces both inner and outer struggles, as well as discrimination from peers. His journey takes him to new and exciting places, and a variety of support systems emerge. The fact that Jools’ mom is a lesbian and Billy’s grandpa is bisexual adds another dimension to the book, too, demonstrating that LGBT people are everywhere!

Confusion about sexual orientation is the main issue in Waking for Hours. The moral? Self-discovery is a journey best left unrushed.

Because I had some interaction with the author – Connie Anne McEntee – prior to reading this book, I was able to notice some parallels between one the author’s characters – Donnie – and the author’s actual life. It’s no secret that fiction is based on reality, and the parallels added to the authenticity of the characters in the book. Some parallels:

similar names (Connie/Donnie)
the main character is a teen and has a sister (the author has two children)
the author has struggled with the very same issues as Billy

The simplistic writing was engaging, light and airy, the storylines had teachings behind them coupled with positive influences, including a gay pastor and a family who is loving and supportive of their children. Billy’s parents try very hard to be great role models, and the fact that his grandfather is bisexual adds an interesting twist to the story. It’s clear that the grandfather was born in a day and age where sexuality was not openly discussed, but the grandfather is portrayed as someone who is not only a mentor to Billy and his friends, and seems to be someone who is a lot of fun to be around.

I deem it an excellent book for teens, and would recommend this book easily!

Waking for Hours: Book Blurb

Here is what waking for hours is about, according to the author’s website (where you can visit to read a brief excerpt):

Seventeen-year-old Bill Miller is a creative, sensitive, and talented teenager who thinks of himself as just a regular guy with ordinary problems. His girlfriend, Shelly, is confused about her feelings for him. His ex-girlfriend, Melody, likes him as just a friend. Truth be told, Bill just wants to find peace. As the summer before his junior year of high school comes to a close, Bill attends a fine arts program at a community college and begins to perceive himself in a new light.

After a rather unsuccessful day at camp, Bill meets Julian “Jools” Garden, who immediately makes him feel better about himself. Jools and Bill find ways to spend time together, starting with a hike in the middle of suburbia that causes Bill to question everything he has ever known about himself. As his friendship with Jools progresses, Bill realizes he is not a straight guy with a girlfriend, but instead a bisexual youth who has fallen in love with Jools, even as Shelly seduces him for the first time.

Waking for Hours shares a teenager’s unique coming-of-age journey as he relies on the help of his grandfather and a new friend and unlocks the courage to face the reality about himself, love, and labels.

You can get your copy of Waking for Hours from:

Get to know the author on a personal level

The other day, when I wrote about sexual identity, I promised to introduce you to an interesting person.

I’m fascinated with interesting people, and Connie Anne McEntee is such a person.

Designated male at birth, Connie is undergoing medical transition from male to female. She’s also a witch, and is quite open about answering questions – even questions that “cross the line.” She was kind enough to share a few things with me and answer some of the questions I had in a mini-interview:

What does MTF mean?

Male to female.

What does genderqueer mean?

Genderqueer refers to a gender identity that is somewhere between masculine and feminine on the gender spectrum, sometimes a combination of both (androgynous or androgyne) and sometimes neither (agender). It’s an identity that “queers” the concept of gender identity by demanding the recognition of more than two options. A subset of genderqueer is genderfluid, in which a person might have a gender identity that shifts for various reasons.

I had thought for a time that I might be genderqueer, and I think it was an attempt to retain some masculinity to keep my wife from needing to divorce me. At this point, it’s safe to say that I have a feminine gender identity but I do queer gender roles to an extent. I still identify very much as my kids’ father, and they call me Dad. Additionally, I refer to myself as an ex-husband. Should I marry again, however, I will be a wife.

What is your sexual orientation? (Forgive me for being so blunt)

My sexual orientation is pansexual, that is I am capable of experiencing sexual attraction to persons across the gender spectrum. That said, I usually find feminine presentations to be most attractive, followed by androgynous, then masculine. My romantic orientation could be described as panromantic, as I am capable of falling in love with a person whose gender identity is anywhere on the spectrum. Unlike with my sexual orientation, I don’t seem to have a hierarchy of desire with regards to romance.

Here’s where it gets complicated. I can experience sexual attraction in different ways. The example I described above is based on how I perceive a person visually. There have been persons I’ve met who might not have found visually attractive, yet I became sexually attracted to them after I got to know them and began to fall in love with them. Typically, sexual attraction after a close emotional bond is formed is described as demisexual. But since I can experience sexual attraction also by appearances, it would be inaccurate for me to describe myself as demisexual. Wildly inaccurate, in fact. *blush*

Can you tell me more about your personal issues with respect to sexual attraction and interactions?

I’m very out regarding my sexual and romantic orientations, as I am with my gender identity. And while I will readily admit that my birth name was David William, I generally don’t discuss details of my sex life.

You’re into witchcraft, and you are a witch. Can you share what this means? Read More

July 25, 2014

My “Jo Ann Plante Chat” – Inspiration for #indie #authors

It amazes me when a reader of mine tells me I have helped make a difference in his or her life. It makes me happy and gives me warm fuzzies inside.

When I got an email one day from this lovely lady, I was floored. She published her book before I did! (Although I was a bit envious, I’m super-thrilled for her!)

How did she get published so fast?

I asked her this, plus a few other questions. We decided to put our conversation together into a blog post, to give her some exposure for her book – even though I have not read it yet – and to share our personal successes with you.

Chances are, if you have been following my posts for a while, you’ll recognize her name and her face.

Yes, it’s Ms. Write4Yu2 herself : Jo Ann Plante!

She is the proud indie author of Everyone Evelon, an e-book published in May 2014. (YAY, Jo Ann!)

Jo Ann has been a reader and a follower of my blog practically from Day 1 and has guest posted before (her true story of her health problems with Lupus). She’s been wanting to publish a book for a while, and claims that I have been a huge help to her, offering her the inspiration she needed to complete it! (She makes me blush.) 🙂

Her book is a work of fiction with a sub-category of Christian and romance.

Let’s dive in!

My “Jo Ann Plante Chat”

Tell me something about your background and how you came to be a writer.

I’ve always liked to write. I live in Rhode Island and my Dad used to work in Connecticut. He got up very early and came home later than most Dads, so I didn’t get to see him much during the week. I used to write little notes or poems and put them in his lunch box, so he could read them during his break.

My Mom had her second heart attack when I was 9 years old. There was a lot of responsibility put on me and by the time I was 12, frankly, I was getting hard to handle. It was suggested that I go away to boarding school for a few years to get back to being a young girl. I had matured very quickly. The boarding school was run by the nuns and was very strict and quite honestly, it was the best thing for me at that time. I used to write home every weekend so I got a lot of practice writing letters.

I went to college and majored in French and German, so there were a lot of grammar and writing classes. Believe it or not, this reinforced my English grammar and made me a better writer. The summer of my junior year I decided to take a Short Story course at the local community college. I thought it would be an easy course to take. It was, but the catch was, for our final exam, we had to write a short story.

For the first few weeks, I couldn’t think of what to write about, and then, while I was sitting under a huge tree in my yard, I decided to write a story through the eyes of that tree. I got an A+ and was told to pursue a career in writing. I should have taken the professor’s advice.

Instead I went on to work as an administrative assistant, but I took advantage of every opportunity to write. I wrote training manuals, product descriptions, and customer correspondence.

While working at the local hospital, I was asked to write an essay about how the hospital was a great place for women to work. I wrote the essay and the hospital won the Spotlight Award from the Rhode Island Commission on Women.

In my next job, I worked for an internet gaming company. They created gambling websites for European countries. My job was to write “test scripts” and test the components of the website. In other words, all day every day, I had to keep playing the game to make sure that everything worked and I had to document not only the player components, but the behind-the-scenes activity of the game. Here I learned to do some technical writing.

Finally, in 2005, I decided to try a writing career, so I took a course in freelance writing. I became certified and then started writing a few articles for my local newspaper. I continued to write for anyone every chance I had.

In 2009, I joined the International Association of Administrative Professionals – Providence Chapter and wrote press releases and articles about the events and activities of the chapter. These articles were also published on the IAAP website and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce website.

During this time I worked as a temp. Sometimes temps are not included with the permanent employees, so I spent many lunch hours with a notebook and pen in hand. It is here that I created Everyone Evelon, a story about 2 people falling in love, the choices they make, their wishes and dreams, and how they actually achieved what they wanted. It came to them in another way.

Because I lack self-confidence, I just put the notebook aside for a few years. Finally, I decided to try and get my novel published. I couldn’t find a literary agent that wanted to work with me, so I took matters into my own hands.

I have to stop here and say that reading your posts and newsletters actually got me to the point where I said to myself, “You know, I can do this.”

I had been writing a blog for my virtual assistant business and I enjoyed writing about different ideas and getting feedback from my readers. I wanted that same feeling as a true author, so I started a second blog post and website for my author work.

Wow. You sure have done a lot, Jo Ann! Thanks for your kind words, too. 🙂

Next question: What prompted you to write this kind of story?

This story contains snippets from my own life and from others around me that have inspired me. Some of it’s just plain creative work and I’m not going to tell you which parts are which. Aside from the creative aspect of writing, I pulled ideas from people I’ve met that have impressed me and I used names I heard or saw that intrigued me.

I try to be as real as possible with my characters, because life is real. There’s a time and place for other genres, but most readers want to read about reality and how to get around problems and obstacles. Once I started writing, the ideas just flowed and I just went from one scene to the next.

Now, I know you self-published Everyone Evelon, but I’d like to know which service did you choose to publish your e-book, and why?

I started to research various book offers. Print books are great, but I don’t have that kind of money to shell out and where would I put all of them? I checked out e-books. This was affordable and doable, but which company to choose?

Again, research, calling them, asking questions, comparing notes led me to select BookBaby. I’m not saying this is the best, but…it is the best option for me. I had no confidence in myself, so I needed someone to hold my hand.

BookBaby always answered my calls by the third ring and an actual person spoke to me. If I emailed them, I would have an answer by the next morning. They let authors choose which services they want instead of one-plan-fits-all.

I chose the Premium Package for $249.00, because I wanted to make money from this e-book and with this package, BookBaby doesn’t take any fees. I charge $1.99 for my e-book.
I chose the Basic eBook Cover Design for $149.00. Next time I will make my own. I will have the book cover created from Fiverr or another website.
I selected BookBaby to get the ISBN number for me for $19.00.

The total came to $417.00, but they only charged me $407.00.

I was nervous about converting my document myself, so they did that for me as well. I gave it to them in .doc form and they converted it to .mobi and then sent it to me to review and approve.

They set up a dashboard, so I can keep track of how many e-books are sold and how much money is coming to me. I have my money direct deposited, so I don’t have to worry about check-cashing fees.

They walked me through the process and I was on my way. They asked me the date I wanted my e-book to go live and they sent me a proof to show me what it will look like on an e-reader. I called several times and they were always happy to talk to me and assure me or advise me on my questions. They really made me calm down and enjoy the process.

It sounds like you’ve had a positive experience with BookBaby. That’s great! Now tell me, what do you want your readers to take away from your e-book?

First of all, let me say that it is classified as Christian fiction, because I mention God. It’s not “Amen, Alleluia” on every page, but it does mention Divine intervention from time to time in the story. I disagree with the genre and category, but that’s where it falls. It is listed as Christian fiction, sub-category – romance.

I prefer to think of it as just a darn good story. It is life, and problems, and give-and-take in a relationship. It is hopes and dreams, and seeing two sides of a problem. I’ve been criticized for the ending, but I may make a sequel, so I wanted to leave the door open.

I want to give my readers a good story to show them that they’re not alone. Life is full of problems and issues, and faith in yourself, others, maybe even God, can give you the strength to persevere and finally have your dream fulfilled. This is a feel-good story, so realistic, you think you know these people. The story takes place in Canada, in the province of Quebec, but it could be anywhere in the world.

What advice do you have for future authors?

Write something every day. I write a weekly diary where I take every day and say what I did or what happened on that day. I do that to make sure that I write something every day. I email this diary once a week to all my friends and pen friends throughout the world. It’s a great way to keep in touch.

I also have 2 blogs. One is for my virtual assistant business. This comes out once a week and it discusses my services, problem-solving solutions, and other current information in that industry.

I just started a new site – “A Good Read, Indeed!” – which focuses on me as an author and my e-book. In my blog, I discuss certain aspects of the book, like where that town is actually located in Quebec and how I arrived at some of the character names.

Read anything and everything. Reading not only introduces you to new words and phrases, it also helps improve your memory and helps you to read faster, so you can get more done in a day.

Have Faith, Hope, and Love. Have Faith in yourself that you have a message to bring to readers and you are the only one that can do it your way in your time. Hope that you will be successful. Notice I said “successful” not “famous.” Success is reaching your readers and making a difference in their lives. “Famous” is all about recognition and making money, but not necessarily about giving back to those who’ve supported you. Love yourself enough to want the best for you and that best is your writing. Push yourself. Give yourself “tough love,” but keep on loving yourself, even if you seem to be alone. Your day will come and when it does, all the love and support you gave yourself will make it that much sweeter!

Always have another story written. If someone asks you what you’ve been doing since your e-book was published, you can start talking about your next book!

That’s good advice, Jo Ann. I agree with all of it, too. 🙂 There’s not much of a segue here, but: Who are your favorite authors?

I really don’t have favorites, because I enjoy any story that’s well-written with memorable characters, a page turner, and has a good ending. If I’m forced to name some, they are Cathy Pelletier, Sarah Rayner, and Joanna Trollope.

Do you have any regrets about anything?

Yes, that I didn’t take that professor’s advice sooner in life.

What are your future plans?

The best thing about being an author is that there is no age limit, so I have several ideas for other novels. I hope to write and publish one a year for as long as I can.

I wish you much success, Jo Ann, thank you for your complete openness and honesty, and wish you much success! I think I might even have to read your book, too, as soon as my reading schedule opens up again! 😉

Places where you can buy Everyone Evelon:

Your eBook Portal/e-sentral

Before I end, my dear readers, please don’t forget to thank Joanne with a Tweet!

Thank Jo Ann for sharing her experience!

And feel free to ask more questions and share your own self-publishing fears in the comment section!