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The Book Worm
eBooks and More
This is a true story of hope, hard work, and success. It all began at the Gold Rush Writers Conference two years ago. During a lunch break, two attendees--Lou Gonzalez and Jim Lanier-- were discussing the challenges of the writing life. Jim had just completed a novel, “The Bizarre Bazaar” and was confused about what to do next. “I’m supposed to have a website, a blog, find an agent, find a publisher, make an eBook,” he lamented. “I don’t know how to do all that, or even where to begin.” Lou, a novelist himself as well an engineer and computer programmer, recognized these as the concerns of most novice authors. He encouraged his new friend, “It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start.” The two proceeded to lay out a plan. Lou worked with Jim to craft first a website and then a blog. The best way to get the novel published, Lou decided, was to create an eBook. He preceded to show Jim how this was done, helping him step by step. Fast forward time wise a few months to an afternoon when Lou and Jim were demonstrating their success at an event hosted by Manzanita Press. As they talked, a young woman sat in the back of the room pounding away on the keys of her laptop. Lou recognized her from Writers Unlimited meetings as Rachel ArceJaeger. After the session ended she beckoned them over. As Lou and Jim had been speaking, Rachel, a recent graduate in computer science at Harvey Mudd College, had been creating an eBook. “I can’t get the graphics to work,” she complained. “The pictures have horizontal spaces running through them. What am I doing wrong?”
Lou had a pretty good idea. “You’re probably using the wrong format. Try either a jpeg or a gif.” Rachel pounded some more on the keyboard. This time everything |
worked. But Lou noted the scrounged-up determination on Rachel’s face as her fingers flew. “What are you doing now?” he asked. “I’m sending my book, ‘A Stepmother’s Story, the TRUE tale of Cinderella,’ to Amazon to be published.” She did, right then. And it was. Rachel then went on to write “Robin: Lady of Legend.” The novel asks (and answers) the question: What if Robin Hood wasn’t the man you thought him to be—what if he wasn’t a man at all? The book, self-published on Amazon, was #1 in the European Historical Fiction category and has continued to be a best seller for the past two months. In Rachel’s own words, “‘Robin: Lady of Legend’ explores the journey we all must take from adolescence to adulthood, and the need to live honorably in a society where honor is so often seen as a liability. It is about living life the best you can no matter the circumstances, and ultimately, it is about the basic rights and responsibilities of being human.” She is currently working on a short story collection that will contain original stories as well as familiar tales retold in new and exciting ways. Lou has just completed a new book of his own. “Creating Your eBook” which combines his engineering programming background with experience in computer design and the conversion of more than 15 manuscripts into Kindle and Nook eBooks. This brings us once again to the Gold Rush Writers Conference. Lou will be back this year teaching a workshop of his own. Lou’s class, named for his book, will reveal the process by which an author can create his or her own eBook. He promises that the resulting eBook will be as good, and usually better, than those prepared by legacy publishers. The workshop will explain and demonstrate the four-step process of 1) Manuscript preparation, 2) Formatting, 3) Conversion, |
and 4) Publication. “You do not have to know any programming language,” he says, All you need to know is how to use a text processor such as Word. Forget the techno-priests who preach that to create an eBook you must know HTML (Most authors will say, ‘What the heck is that,’) “The little talked about secret is that Word is a programming language that you can use to format your manuscript and thus create your own eBook. It’s easy to do and I can show you how.” The seventh annual Gold Rush Writers Conference will be held May 4, 5 and 6th in Mokelumne Hill. For additional information, go to goldrushwriters.com or call 286-1320.
* * * Author Bill Manville has again agreed to teach his Writing to Get Published class at the Groveland Branch of Tuolumne County Library. Bill’s writing sessions will run for six Saturday afternoons starting May 5 at 2 p.m. Here’s what Michael Korda, Editor in Chief, Simon & Schuster, has to say about Bill: “...the work I know best is your novel Goodbye, which I edited. What first attracted me was the dazzling prose; I was equally impressed by plot and characterization. A considerable literary accomplishment but also a Book of the Month choice, bringing an impressive price at paperback auction. What may also interest your students, I’ve heard you in discussion with writers like Joe Heller, Patricia Bosworth, Lois Gould and Gay Talese, and remember thinking more than once, Bill ought to be teaching…” The free class is open to students of all ages. The only requirement is a desire to learn how to write. Sign up at the library or phone 962-6144. Bill is asking that participants email him at whmanville@yahoo.com when they register at the library so that he can get to know his writers before the first class.
Picture (you have it) Lou Gonzalez makes eBooks easy. |