Publish Your Book on Kindle – Review of Course Part 11
July 8th, 2012
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Author: Hi everyone! I was so glad that today’s portion of my review of Geoff Shaw’s Kindling course fell on a Sunday. This is the day when I relax with family around me, sip coffee, enjoy everything. A perfect day for me to get into the section where I’m building excitement – the fiction advice!
I already have two non fiction books up doing well thanks to Paula Seymour and Geoff Shaw’s advice, but I really want to get a fiction sample up and see what its reception is like. People may say I stink! It’s very possible – fiction isn’t my forte. But I DO have a love for it. So let’s dig RIGHT in, because I’m excited! I’m over on the right sidebar now.
Tricktion
He tells what this was originally intended for and why he’s put it inside the membership program. Then there are links to the subsections.
Plots
Oh I LOVE the site he talks about – I am always looking up things there when I want the scoop on someone or something. I didn’t know Amazon owned it! Never EVER thought about using it for inspiration, though. Neat idea.
After a bit of text there’s a video a little over 2 minutes long. I have to say here that I’m SO glad I enjoy Geoff’s voice. I’m really picky about stuff like that – like the guy who slurped coffee – I don’t care how good his info is, I could never get through it. A waste of money for me. Okay back to the course.
He shows us how to go through the site for ideas. I have a tab open doing it with him. I choose a different one similar to the genre and storyline I like. Oh I REALLY like the genre tip of researching. I’m going to do that! Love the improvements tip.
Tiff’s Tip Addition: Going off the comments tip – sort by Hated It. That opens up some instant improvement ideas! However, don’t choose a movie you love – you’ll be disagreeing with everything these people write. Choose one you thought was okay, but that could use some spiffing up.
Characters
He has some text that I don’t quite understand but I’m assuming I will in the video that accompanies it. This one is a bit over 5 minutes. I do the Google exercise. This is her – this is my lead character for my fiction novel. I don’t have as much luck with the son in my novel. So I head to istock to do the same exercise. Okay after much searching I found my fiction son here.
LOL good tip about safe search. Love the celebrity tip regarding varied looks for emotions, etc. Now I didn’t choose a celebrity but I can see how we can combine a normal image with this tip about poses, emotions, etc.
Settings
This video is a little over 5 minutes long. Good ideas for me! I was making stuff up – didn’t even think about the YT version idea. The other site would be good for lots of fiction. Wow this tip led me to Google images and I realize that my portrayal of my first setting is all wrong! I was going by what was in my head (sterile, tiled with flickering fluorescent bulbs) and what’s real is opulent – not sterile and cold as I’d described at ALL! There is rich wood, winding staircases and intricate designs.
REALLY love this video!!
I am going to go do this tonight or tomorrow for my story before I even move forward. Wow!
IMAGEination
I love the organization of the previous step – that’s what this is all about. REALLY good example here so you can see how it’s done. Love it!
What If
I used this tip to initiate the fiction story I’m writing but he takes it one step further. I want to do this throughout my book as I’m writing it now. How fun!
Okay I pasted his entire Quick Steps list into my Word document where I’m writing the story so that I’ll be reminded to do all of these things. Alright I was going to stop for the night since I’m sleepy but I can’t. Must. Go. On. Too excited.
Cloning
This is a short bit of text and video under 3 minutes. Oh I love this one! Here’s another example: Avatar is a remake of Dances With Wolves. If you’ve never seen these, watch Dances With Wolves first and then Avatar – two totally different settings and times and even species, but the same basic story.
I like this idea.
Images in Fiction
Wow I didn’t think this would go over well but it might! I think as a reader, I might NOT like this. Only because the one thing that made me a voracious reader and want to become a writer was how The Secret Garden described in words and I SAW in my head. I like to see in my head.
Just a personal preference though. I can see where many people WOULD appreciate this. I will definitely use this strategy and test it out anyway.
You and Your Acquaintences
REALLY good tip here! I am going to do this too. I’m already sort of doing it with my story, but not wholly.
Google Street View
Oh! just looked up one of my main places – how neat! Extra tips on using this that I didn’t know. Love the photo tip. Wow video too – awesome. This video is just under 8 minutes, by the way – but worth every second.
Transcribed
This page is a mix of text and audio with three numbered bullet points. Now I’m not good at this because of the stop and start. I can see how this would help many people. It would help me with children’s fiction books for sure because I’m used to it.
Okay this was a great section. Loved it. Got tons of creation ideas from this. THIS for me, is where I’d get paralyzed. Not everyone does. I can write like the wind once I have something I know I’m supposed to write about.
So this helped me tremendously. It also showed me why he says anyone can do fiction. I really regret that traditional publishing houses and the market itself has been so snobby that it’s kept many people out. Who was it – Danielle Steele – who said she wallpapered a room with her rejection letters? It was someone.
That kind of stuff irks me. There was a great writer being stifled by snobbery and one little editor’s eyes. Amazon Kindle allows you to publish your book on Kindle and see what the WORLD thinks about it.
I love that. I love the Kindling course. Most freeing course I’ve ever taken. Ever.
Tiff 
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Posted in Career
Awesome review as always. Your excitement is so genuine that I had to go and get the course myself. Thanks for pointing me to a truly valuable resource… I mean it.
Awesome Mark! I know you do. It’s wonderful and I have no doubt everyone will love it.
So… I’m a daydreamer (and people watcher), have so many ideas and scenarios running through my head ALL the time – with exaggeration on the boring parts to make good fiction imo.
Tried my hand at screenwriting, but the structure of a “shooting script” or traditional screenplay really threw me off my creativity.
The problem is putting it all together to where it makes sense in one story. (“yikes” says Shaggy)
And your right, those snobby publishing companies are getting a well deserved kick in the rear-end via Amazon’s self-publishing platform! Boo hoo for them!
Keep the reviews coming, love what your doing Tiff!!
Agree Marc! Thanks
Sounds interesting. I’m assuming you haven’t gotten to the ‘promoting your kindle book’ section of Geoff’s course yet. I really want to know what he has to teach regarding promoting a book to help its ranking on Kindle since most people don’t have lists to promote their book to, let alone having a major facebook and twitter following.
How are people able to promote their kindle books when they don’t have a ready list of members? Do they use the ‘Free’ day to get reviews to help rankings?
I’m not sure yet Aazer – but I am going in on Kindle under 2 pen names as well – with zero following and no list, so we’ll see how that goes
I know without any help – I would promote mine the same way I would anything online:
1. Squidoo lens book review
2. Tweet it (I use Twitter search function for stuff so I’m sure others do too)
3. Join groups, forums, etc. where the audience is for discussions, sig file exposure
4. Do all the branding stuff I’ve discussed so far in 30daybranding.com
5. etc etc etc
It’s not different from anything – I have niches nobody knows I’m in – I go around branding and promoting like anything
I must say Tiff, I agree with Mark entirely. Your reviewing of this course is absolutely infectious and I simply had to have some of what you’re having
I invested in it, and Geoff’s course is WONDERFUL. I truly believe this to be the course that will be the core of my online business going forward. Nothing else I’ve come across before has filled me with as much motivation, excitement and confidence in being “on the right track”
Thanks Vlad! I’m glad it’s infecting everyone. LOL!
A great review of an awesome course. I also own Kindling mostly because I belong to some of Geoff’s other training. One of the things that I really like about the course is all the valuable marketing ideas that can be very helpful in all niches even if you are not interested in writing ebooks.
YES! That’s why I go through all sections (like recipes) even if it’s not my niche. He has nuggets everywhere.
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the Triction section as much as I did, Tiffany. I know I had a lot of Ah-Hah moments come over me. That section really got the old cog wheels turning in my brain. I especially loved the Google Streets section.
Take care!
Cindi
Me too! My favorite I think was settings.
Finally getting through this section – OMG – you are sooooo right, this is perfect! I had ideas about what I wanted to do, but I was still feeling pretty stuck. I loved the section on plot and the sections on the visuals. It all makes so much sense!
I asked a writer recently about her research and she said where ever she is, she gets ideas. One of her juvenile books is about the son of a senator running for office. She got the idea when she was at a Democratic convention and so took lots of notes and photos and such to make sure she got everything she wanted about the setting. I had thought about using my previous travels as settings in the same way this author had. BUT – I really like Geoff’s approach, too, for when I can’t justify that return trip to Paris LOL. And of course, for just all the other fill-ins, too.
BTW I didn’t picture your character quite the same as you, but now that I see her, yes, I can see her!
Ah remember that wasn’t for the Feast – that was for a different idea. Just want to clarify in case you thought that