Publishing in the New World, Part 2

So I've finished my first eBook, and it is now online and exclusive to the Amazon Kindle Store!

Don't worry, if you don't have a Kindle... the Kindle APP is free, and available for most tablets, personal computers, and other devices! Download the free App for your device, and you have instant access to eBooks such as The Inquiring Minds: Cattle X-ing!  With one touch, you get a Free Sample, and with another click, the entire book in seconds... and for the low price of only $2.99!

As you may have read in the last post, creating this eBook wasn't easy, but now that it's done, a companion book will be available soon, The Inquiring Minds: Kiss My Spleezix, which will continue the adventures of Bobby, Albert, and Iris as they explore all things strange and unusual in their hometown of Three Craters Lake.

Soon to follow, I hope, will be the graphic novel 3 Knights in India.  It's a huge eBook, though, with all those graphics, so I am wondering if it should be separated into at least two books?  I hate to do that, though, although if I did the price for both would be equal to the price of the entire book.

Most eBooks are small, and easy to load, and read.  The entire process is very different from creating a paper book, and putting it together should be easier since there is so little formatting, and page design and book layout are stripped away as well.  All those skills we spent years learning are no longer necessary.  Add graphics to the mix, though, and it's a whole nother ballgame.  The book gets bigger... much bigger, and fighting the size versus resolution battle we fought when the web came about is back again.  This, however, is just the beginning of the battle.

One of the earliest of The Inquiring Minds strips to be found in the new eBook, Cattle Xing.

There are books about creating eBooks, and several blogs, but much of it is basic stuff.  There isn't much for the cartoonist, and even then, the industry is still growing.  The challenges are awesome, and then, just when you think you're done, you now have to choose a place to make your eBook available, and then try to match your book to their standards. And then there's the forms to fill out, and the step by step process of what to do to succeed in publishing your eBook. 

I spent an entire day following the Amazon stuff step  by step, and got nowhere.  Eventually, as in most things computer and web related, I tossed it all aside, and worked from scratch, and found a process that worked for me.  Hopefully I'll remember it all when I have to do it again... and again. 

Maybe I should write it all down?  When I get the time....

For those curious, Paul asked at the facebook page if there is new material in these Inquiring Minds books.  if you have any Inquiring Minds book, either Number 1, or Funny Papers, then you should have most of the material from the second book, and some from the first.  What is new is about 40 dailies that haven't been seen on the web in a long time, so most of you will find the material new.  And if you haven't read The Inquiring Minds, I highly recommend the print books, but the eBooks are portable, and can be read whereever you go with your tablet or other device.

I am thinking of adding something new to the second book, to reward those who buy the set. At $2.99 each, though, you're getting a bargain. :0)

If you buy them, please let me know how the book looks on different platforms.   Tell me the device you are reading on, and how the strips look, if you can.  I do recommend reading with the Kindle App on a large screen tablet, to get the strips in color,and at optimum size.

Thanks,    JOHN :0)