Total money invested on this project to date (after book sales only): $216.95 (debt)

Profit made to date on this project after all sales and services: $300.18

With this being a short month, I almost expected to receive December’s Kindle sales today as well, but in the past that has come through on the 27th.  December totaled $70.53.  January of this year was the same, except 1 dollar less, and so far February has only reached $50.00.  But with the release of the new Kindle 2 yesterday, I’m hoping the coming months will go back up again.

February 28th: I still haven’t received the December deposit for Kindle sales.  I guess they follow their 60 day rule to the tee which means I’ll be waiting at least one more day.  However, I spoke too soon in my last post about February being a slow month.  This week alone my sales have almost doubled and I’m sitting at $84.00 for the month now.  That’s my best month overall, and my highest since last September which was $83.13.  Thank you, Kindle 2 owners!

Only print orders will be counted, minus any sales made through the author’s own account. Some runner-ups will also be highlighted.

Wow!  What an excellent marketing opportunity!  And while I can think of a ton of things to do with that amount of award money, I’d probably honestly turn around an invest it in further marketing of my own book or to buy author copies!

Read more about the contest at the Lulu blog or on the contest page.

Winners will be announced April 15th.

1 advanced reader’s copy of The POD Pocket Guide

1 “slightly used” copy of POD People by Jeremy Robinson

1 copy of Janet Elaine Smith’s Promo Paks

1 copy of Stealing Wishes written by yours truly

1 copy of Misfit McCabe by LK Gardner-Griffie

1 copy of Briefs for the Reading Room by Dan Marvin

and lots of back issues of The Writer, The Missouri Review, and Writer’s Journal.

What do you have to do to get in on the drawing for one of these fabulous prizes?  Wish us Happy Birthday, of course.  Click on the Birthday Bash tab at the top of the blog and post your birthday wishes there.  All writers and readers are eligible.  We’ll be drawing a winner or two each week in March!

Also, don’t forget we’re still accepting nominations for the “Two-fer” reviews.  Nominate your Lulu book and the Lulu book of another friend or author.  We’ll pick a winner and review both!  We get to read.  You get a review.  Everyone gets cake!  Click on the Birthday Bash tab to learn more!

While researching indie bookstores to add to my list, I came across an interesting mailing list which you can download as a PDF here. It is a 64 page list of bookstores in the U.S. and Canada, and based on the number of addresses per page I’d say it contains at least 2100 total addresses. Now, there’s no guarantee all of these stores are still in business, but I have to say the list is quite magnificent and the only one of its size I’ve found. It’s also already formatted for label printing. Based on its web address, the list appears to be the product of author Karen Chance, although I could not find a link to it on her cool author site.

Since I only have 100 postcards, I’m compiling my own list of stores which I’m researching to be sure they are indeed still in business. But I wanted to share this helpful tool with those authors who may be looking for a quick place to start with their own mailings and promotion.

Last year, I completed my second novel which I am currently working on publishing with Lulu.  I decided to record my experience which can hopefully be used as a resource for other writers, or be read as a boring soap opera as I work on polishing my book for publication.  However you choose to see it. 

Right now I’m in the editing and book cover creation stages and have invested just over $200 dollars of my own money.  I hope you will check out this new tab and feel free to ask questions or offer feedback as I go through this process.

Since beginning this review blog, I’ve probably read more nonfiction than I’ve ever read in my life.  The success of authors telling their stories about overcoming obstacles in their everyday lives has been astonishing, such as Shirley Cheng who used Lulu to share her words, enthusiasm, and spirit.  Writers like her constantly reiterate why I started this blog in the first place.

Jack Orchard is another such author who tops the list.  He is a writer, a hero even, who deserves to be read.  His book, Extra Hands, will change you.  It is a story of overcoming adversity like none other. Like many, Jack’s life was the all American dream.  He was a teenage football player who did well in school. Jack graduated from Harvard and moved to Moscow to start a successful financial business.  While in Moscow, he met the love of his life and got married, ready to start a new journey in life.

But that all American dream soon took a different path which was totally unexpected.  In his early 30s, Jack was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  ALS causes extreme muscle cramps and weakness.  It leads to total loss of muscle control, and eventually the loss of speech, the ability to walk, and to breathe.  It is a death sentence of which there is currently no cure.

Jack wasn’t ready to give up though.  He’d worked too hard in life to throw his hands up in the air and call it quits.  Since ALS patients are in need of constant care, Jack decided to start a volunteer organization to help other ALS victims.  The name of his organization is Extra Hands for ALS.  Extra Hands prides itself on turning young volunteers into leaders who are capable of facing challenges in their own lives and communities thanks to their charitable work.  Jack hopes these volunteers will help raise awareness which will ultimately lead to a cure.

Jack cannot speak or use his hands, and yet his positive attitude comes across in his words so strongly.  There are life lessons here for everyone.  As a writer, I cannot imagine not having control of my own hands in order to bring my story to life on the page in front of me.  How did Jack do it, you ask?  With the aid of  amazing technology, a special camera, using an Eyegaze Communication System, tracks the movement of Jack’s eyes as he spells words on a keyboard control panel shown on his monitor.  He can type about 35 words a minute. Not only can he write with this technology, but he can operate his computer, respond to emails, and synthesize a recorded voice in order to communicate out loud.

Jack’s biggest regret?  Not being able to put his arms around those he cares about. “When my time comes I would like to be surrounded one way or another by the people who have meant so much to me who have shaped my life”, he writes at the end of his book. “There is so much left to do. So for now–back to work.”

Jack’s book proves that we can each make a difference.  I encourage you to buy a copy of his book today, if for no other reason than to support his wonderful charity.  A proceed from each book sold helps support Extra Hands for ALS.  Go to their website to learn more and to watch a video about Jack.

]]> http://llbookreview.com/2008/05/review-9-extra-hands-by-jack-orchard/feed/ 0 http://llbookreview.com/2008/05/i-want-my-isbn/ http://llbookreview.com/2008/05/i-want-my-isbn/#comments Sat, 03 May 2008 12:25:06 +0000 Shannon Yarbrough http://lulubookreview.wordpress.com/?p=52 Greetings all and welcome to May! Before we get rolling with this month’s reviews, I wanted to take some time out to discuss a few topics of the POD industry.

Although my Success tab at the top of this page has been extremely slow (hint…hint), it’s been nice to hear from some of you personally about the success of your Lulu books. When asked for advice, I seem to be saying the same thing over and over again…If you haven’t done so already, buy an ISBN for your book! It is the easiest way to improve circulation of your book through all major channels (Amazon.com, B&N.com, Abebooks.com, Books in Print, etc), and it’s the quickest way to get your foot in the door of bookstores. And for those of you shying away in the corner because you may not know what an ISBN is, listen up…

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s basically your book’s social security number. It’s also the key to getting your book in the system in most bookstore databases. B&N uses a system called Bookmaster. If your book has an ISBN, then it’s listed in Books in Print. This gets your book into the Ingram database which then gets your book into the Bookmaster system, which means a B&N store could order your book. I work for a medical book wholesaler by day, and the ISBN is the first thing we ask for when people call us looking for a book, next to author and title. Now that doesn’t mean you have to memorize and know it. Bookstores can definitely find you by author and title, but they won’t find your Lulu book in their system without the ISBN.

Recently, you’ve probably noticed two ISBNs listed under the product details of a book online or possibly even on the back of a book. There is an ISBN 10- and an ISBN 13-. The 10 and 13 are not part of your ISBN. Those numbers only tell you how many digits are in that ISBN that follows. ISBNs were once only 10 digits. Last year, the ISBN 13- went into effect because publishers were running out of 10 digit numbers. A quick fix was to just put 978- in the front of the old number. By doing this, it changed the last digit of the ISBN which is known as a check digit. But the middle numbers are the same. This has caused some confusion in the industry because people think you can just drop the 978 and the number will still work. It won’t…unless your system’s search features are that good at finding half a number. Here’s an example of the two ISBNs for one book with the like digits highlighted in red…

• ISBN-10: 1413401031
• ISBN-13: 9781413401035

Here’s how to get started with your ISBN. Sign into Lulu and go to the My Projects tab. Click on the Promote star next to your project. You’ll be taken to a great page that offers all kinds of fun stuff including “Buy” buttons which you can post on your own blogs and websites, bookmarkers, postcards, business cards, etc. But look in the menu down the left side. Under “Marketing & Distribution,” you’ll see a link called ISBNs. Lulu offers two packages, both for $99.95. One is called “Published by You” and one is “Published by Lulu.” But both offer ISBN assignment to your book. Lulu even formats the barcode and ISBN number onto the back of your book for you.

It does take a few weeks for your book to become ISBN ready. There are some steps for you to follow to editing your manuscript for approval (nothing too serious). And overall, it will take a few weeks for the book to start showing up on sites like B&N.com and Amazon.com, but it is truly the best investment you could make in getting your book out there to readers!

But you don’t have to take my advice! After all, I have NOT purchased an ISBN for my own book on Lulu. Why, you ask? Because I mainly used Lulu to publish a 2nd edition of my book which would be more affordable than the 1st edition which I published with a different POD publisher. The first edition already has an ISBN, for both a hardcover and paperback copy. And besides, that book has been out since 2003. I am getting ready to publish a 2nd book with Lulu though, and I will definitely be purchasing an ISBN for it. Here is a link to a website I found which also offers some other great advice about Lulu set-up, especially with creating your own book cover:

Self Publishing with Lulu

Also, Mick Rooney, a UK Lulu author, has a great post on his author site about his adventures with Lulu.

So, that’s about it. I have four reviews already lined up for the month of May. Thanks to all who have continued to support this site on a regular basis, and thanks to the Lulu authors who have posted their books on the “Pick Me!” page. Keep them coming!