Kindle Publishing Course Review Part 5
June 30th, 2012
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Author: Hi everyone! We’re on part five of my in-depth implementation review of Geoff Shaw’s Kindling course. As you know, yesterday I had a big breakthrough. I’m happy to report I wrote my first page of fiction today that I’ve ever been proud of.
I sent it to my Mom and she said my dialogue was MUCH improved from stuff I’d done in the past (thanks to some tips I gained in Kindling in general and also in Tom Monetleone’s Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel.
Quick Note: Someone asked me once about a course and whether or not it was something I would urge my own mother and sister to buy. Just a quick FYI that Jeni (my sister) bought Geoff’s Kindling course this morning – she called me, talked to me about my excitement, and she bought it while we were on the phone.
So have zero doubt that I never recommend anything to you that I wouldn’t have my own loved ones spend money on.
We’re off to Part 5 now – hang onto your seats and I’ll try to keep tears to a minimum this time!
Non Fiction
He talks about non fiction and why you should get into it. He links out to a page on the series lesson. This is what Paula did and what she urged me to do (and I’m doing and so is my sister Jeni). I’ll go to the series page when I come to it naturally. I think it’s just being mentioned here.
He talks about what type of non fiction you should create.
Summary Books
Ha ha! I see he’s put a clarification up in this section because of what I was confused about. I’ve already seen this main page of the Kindling course.
SB Content
Right off the bat he wants us printing this. Kind of a good kick in the butt. Oh I love these red numbered bullets again!
#1 – this is why ANYone can do this.
#2 – I like to do this. I tried doing it with my Vegetarian book and most people said it made them laugh a little.
#3 – This section almost seems to contradict itself but I understand what he’s trying to say.
#4 – Oh what a breath of fresh air – it’s a 180 from what the gurus teach, isn’t it? Well actually not what they teach – what they specifically ASK for when they come to ghostwriters for publications.
#5 – great tip for non fiction!
#6 – again, I did this in my Vegetarian book with my feather story.
#7 – I love this tip and I wasn’t always like this. I had to be told to do it by a marketer and once I did, it was freeing!
#8 – I can’t wait to get instructions on how to do this because I plan to do it in my vegetarian book once I know how. I was scared 
#9 – This is one tip I picked up here and implemented and in the first few days on Kindle, my veggie book has 11 reviews already! 10 five star and one 4-star and 9 “Likes,” too!
#10 – LMAO! Oh he cracks me up – stick to it like…LOL! This tip is a common one. Okay he challenges us to create a deadline. I did! I mapped the whole process out for a summary book of my own. Why not?
SB Example
Again, he uses a real example. Love this. I didn’t know Kindle could be in color! Awesome. Mine’s in B&W – it’s a 2nd generation. He tells us to go peek inside the book and I like how that’s laid out! I can do that.
He pounds it into our brains that we over complicate things. We do!!
SB More Advice
There’s a 5 minute warning video and some text here. Watch it! I like that he’s teaching ethics in here too. “It’s not right…” he says. Yes! I agree.
SB ReFormatting
This page has snippets of text with three video tutorials in it. I’m confused before I read the lesson because I’m wondering why you wouldn’t just work from the original you have on your desktop, but maybe he explains that. Think I’ll shut up and go learn.
All of the videos are short. Ah see? He tells me why I need to know this. Good to know! Kind of a neat safety feature for us. This is a good video showing you more about summary books and how easy they are.
Good tip in second video about where to put certain things – especially to help increase sales. The way he did the paragraphs looks like they’re scrunched – did anyone else notice that? I wanted to hit Enter. LOL
The third video is good – I love the ease of use with images! Ah here he shows you the easier way to do a hyperlinked TOC so you don’t need that other tool after all that he previously spoke of.
SB Template
This is the last one in this section. We first download an HTML template. It comes with a doc file too. This is for Googledocs. I personally don’t like GD and would rather do it on my own since mine turned out fine last time – but this is good for beginners.
He reiterates the summary book instructions because apparently I’m not the only dummy who was confused 
ACK! There’s a spider on my screen!
Shiver! Maybe he wants to hear Geoff’s training so he can create a summary book on How to Spin a Good Web. He’s scurrying across the top of my monitor and I don’t have the heart to kill him, he’s so teeny tiny!
Okay we moved Mr. Spider. Next up tomorrow is Romance and Erotica. I tried my hand at Romance back during one of my “try to write fiction” phases because typical publishers tell you it’s easy, fast, makes money, etc.
I apparently sucked. I’m still in 4th grade and I snicker at “pulsing pants” and “big throbbing bulges”. It just doesn’t do it for me. However, I do like love stories so I’m going to look forward to that training tomorrow to see if I can pick up some tips.
Alright – goodnight people! I’m happy – toes firmly curled with the Kindling course. What’s even BETTER is that so many of you are onboard with me so it’s like our whole family is in there on the same journey and I don’t feel so…alone.
Tiff
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My creative juices are starting to flow big time, TIff. Trouble is I’m still working on my plr website and don’t know if I’ll have time to do justice to this course…I don’t want it to be the next shiny new thing and sit on my hard drive unused…What to do? What to do? lol
bev.
Bev I like doing more than 1 thing. SO maybe make 1 hour a day for this. Or 1 hour for PLR, etc.
hmm yes, I would have to be rather more disciplined with my time. I tend to do just the one thing, but I notice that when I take a break and do something else it is really refreshing, then I can actually get more done more quickly on the original thing when I come back to it. I would really like to do this… scary tho, to take on so much.
Umm talk about me, I need to be tied to my chair and muzzled to work a full ONE HOUR!! hahah! Getting better though, so this kindle course WILL BE MINE SOON! Just need to organize myself. By the way Tiffany, do you manage to stick to your plan, I think it was working until 12 or 1pm?? I haven’t been disciplined lately…gotta change that too! lol
No. lol! I got out of wanting to but maybe when school returns. Now I wake up around 10 am
Well, it is nice to have lie-ins too!! Enjoy the Texan summer! I am not an early-riser myself, but really have to start waking earlier, I am ashammmmmmedd of myself! LOL! Thank god, I have no kids! HAAHAA!
I’m really enjoying the reviews, Tiff. One thing is I think the order of information is a little confusing, I think because the way things have been added and the course has grown over time. But following your review helps make sure I’m not missing anything with the training.
I’ve read a lot of it today and now have my first series completely mapped out. I had already roughly mapped it before I bought Kindling, but now I have a more concrete idea of how to go about it and am going to make sure I get at least 1 book published in July. Excited!
Very exciting Ruth! I know Paula is a prime example of series success!
Call me a superstitious old poop Tiff, but spiders are a symbol of creativity. I think that you’re going to be so successful on Kindle, that it will knock your socks off!…Not that you’re wearing any right now, what with all that heat you’re having in Texas
Awesome! I didn’t know that
And gosh no socks – ever – I’m a Texan! lol
SUPER cool, Tiff!
I’m getting Tom’s book via your link now.
Do you have the details of what you did for marketing your book in the FB group or is it secret?
Also, don’t forget to check ALL the stats in KDP (like any other countries you may have selected w/in the KDP program.) I’m such a “newb” and just assumed everything is lumped up in what you see under Amazon.com in the reporting section. Well it’s not.
Much to my surprise, just yesterday I found additional sales in the UK, France, etc! (And I published my first book on May 30th) LOL
My lesson for the day – BE CURIOUS about all those buttons, bells and whistles.
yes it’s in the Note titled about day OF promotions. I am doing preplanned promotions for my July 17th 2-day promo.
I have had some sales in the UK and amazon.de too – that’s awesome!
I am so very proud of and happy for you! I have the course and intend to actually go thru it. I just have a lot going on now. I can do an hour a day. lol I have your SNO course too. I love all your ideas! I am currently working on SNO. I am SUCH a beginner:-D
I have War of Art and a kindle book You Are A Writer by Jeff Goins that have added to the fire under my butt. I’m sure the speed will come as I spend more time on/with this.
I loved War of Art too!
I was all stoked and ready to publish my short story…just waiting for the cover to come back from the Fiverr provider I hired. I told her the story had a revenge/just desserts theme. When I got the message that the cover was ready I could barely contain my excitement. But that was quickly extinguished when I saw the picture of the sweeping sands of a desert. I realized that English probably isn’t this person’s first language. LOL…whadda ya gonna do? It’s $5 dollars after all. I’m hoping she’ll be able to correct it.
LOL! Oh no Olivia! It’s not funny but a blooper for your bestseller status interview in the future
Hi Tiffany!
I am so thrilled that you are having such fun with this! Kind of addictive, isn’t it?
I know what you are saying about hot. It’s hotter than hell up north of you here in Omaha, Nebraska, as well. Plus factor in the humidity on top of it.
Speaking of Texas, I just picked up two juicy Texas watermelons at the store. I am prepared to hunker down in the central AC, at least until the 4th of July is over and done. Nothing like cool, refreshing, cold watermelon!
You mean you don’t want to be the next E.L. James, Tiff? I used to write erotica back in the 8th grade. My friends loved it-couldn’t wait for the next chapter-lol! I actually still have those manuscripts believe it or not. Maybe I ought to pull them out, next time I need a good laugh. I just wouldn’t want my 32 year old son peeking over my shoulder-lol!
Another story I have from 8th grade concerns an erotic book I found in my mother’s dresser drawer. I made a phony cover for it, and I took it to school. My friend and I were reading it and giggling like typical 14 year old girls do. Our science teacher came up behind us and asked what was so funny. He took the book, and we found ourselves in the vice principal’s office. And get this, he made my friend read it aloud in front of him. What a perv he must have been thinking back on it 42 years later. My mother even wrote a note to get the book back, to no avail. Looking back on the whole thing, I would have been wiser to have put another book cover on it-like Nancy Drew or something. That was the only naughty thing we had in those days, books and magazines. No pay-per-view in those days.
I don’t think I would want to write erotica now, except the softer, leave more to the imagination kind. I did pick up the guide that Geoff endorses by Tink Board-Dill. It has a lot of good stuff in it for writing fiction in general. Soon as I am finished with my coaching/mentoring in September, I will be diving into the fiction. I can’t wait!
Have a great weekend, Tiffany!
Cindi
How funny Cindi! I just never got into romance books. They do nothing. I guess I prefer the flirting attraction where you know something’s going to happen but it’s not spelled out for you in every gory detail – maybe because their details never match up with how I’d want things to go down. LOL!
Bought the course too Tiff and loving it. But as Bev has said above, I’m trying to do too many things at once including learning French – oh la la! So will try really hard to take your advice as this is great stuff.
Split your day up Gaynor – you can do it!
LMAO at your “pulsing pants” Tiff! Well not actually yours …
I’ve downloaded a few fiction and non-fiction books for Kindle and a lot of them are formatted with paragraphs the way Geoff shows. It looks weird in Word but fine on the Kindle
LOL Really? I’m gonna have to look. The sample chapter on my PC is squished and that would bug me but if Kindle straightens it out that’s great.
Hi Tiffany:
I am really enjoying your Kindling review. I am thinking about writing a short story about the loss of our daughter and how we have been dealing with it. I think that a short story about our loss may would be of some comfort for others who have experienced the same type of thing. What are your thoughts? Is there a place for a short story on Amazon Kindle? Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sam memoirs would be great on Kindle! My Mom was asking about the same thing re: her loss of her husband. We researched and yes, there’s a market.
Thanks Tiffany, I am certainly going to explore the possibly of a memoir on Amazon. What would you think as far as number of pages it should be?
As long as it needs to be Sam but no less than 25ish
Thanks Tiffany for your help. I really appreciate.
Now I feel like such a dope. Just watched Geoff’s video about making easy Kindle covers. I whipped one up in no time following his instructions. I think I’ll be doing this for the time being. It was almost as fun as writing my story.
Awesome! I’m not there yet.