Excited about Kindle Vella

Hey everyone, I discovered Kindle Vella a few days ago and thought it might be something worth trying. I mean, how hard could it be?

Well, as it turns out, I’m starting to feel like it’s just what I’ve been looking for. It’s a platform that let’s a writer publish material in an episodic format. Caveat: ya gotta be a bonified user on KDP’s Publishing platform.

This is what you see on the landing page if you search for Kindle Vella. It’s just my opinion, but it looks like a reader’s paradise.

That would be perfect for an anthology of short stories or even a novel that could be broken out into episodes. There are some rules that Amazon insists the author follow and it’s spelled out in the terms of use. They specify that the content must never have been previously published in any format in any other location.

Just so I’m clear, they want new content. The target market is for the younger crowd. You know, those folks that never put the phone down. As a matter of fact, the prose is automatically formatted to fit phone screens.

I usually try to keep my chapter lengths to around 3k or so but I’ve discovered I can usually break those down even further to wind up with episodes that have the old internal cliffhanger. If you aren’t sure what that is I suggest you do a bit of searching and learning about it. It’s a great tool in a Novelist’a toolbox.

You still need to polish (until your fingers are raw and you are sick of looking at the damn thing) but in the end it gets your work in front of eyeballs. No gatekeepers. Just readers.

And baby, that’s where the rubber hits the road.

Have fun. Get the butt in chair. Stop scrolling this blog and git er done.

Much love to all of you out there struggling.

Peace,

Lee

Just Released

Just released this short on Amazon as a prelude to my first main novel, Paladin’s way ~ So512bbp09b1xl-_sx312_bo1204203200_ulstone.  I’m excited as a kid at Christmas.   The short (About 20 pages) is at www.amazon.com.  Hope you’ll check it out.  I also hope to do a cover reveal soon for Soulstone.  It’ll be awesome IMHO.

My family has been great as I flop and twitch and mumble getting ready to do the debut.  I’d go crazy without them.  I’m grateful to them.

More good stuff coming soon.  Stay tuned.  See you again soon.  🙂

Thoughts

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted here.  Sorry it’s taken so long but that’s how it usually works with blogs.  You start out all gung-ho and you find yourself losing momentum like a dying worm on a hot sidewalk.

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Gung Ho Joe

I have been working in spite of my innate sorry-ness.  The fourth book is at the 50 K mark.  Whew.  Thought I’d never get there. 😊

I’ve made it a priority to stay on top of the query letters.  The other three novels are in various stages of editing or out on query.

Good news if you are looking for a great read.  My good friend and a brilliant storyteller and novelist, H.L. Stephens, is about to bring out her next work.  You can check out her latest at this site.  Her new site is here.  Be sure to mark and check back on her new site as it’s still under construction.   If you’re looking for great presents, She’s on Amazon here and Barnes and Noble here.  Stay alert.  She’s a rising star.

That brings me to another thought.  I’ve been doing research on the Indy publishing scene for fiction since I’m a capitalist and the idea of money is near and dear to my heart😂.  It seems that for a new fiction writer there is evidence that Indy is the way to go.  For non-fiction, perhaps, not so much.  This needs a little more study and thought.  It’s a winding road at best.  And there are monsters.  I’m just saying.  The link to the Forbes article is here.

Stephen King said  “When asked, “How do you write?” I invariably answer, “One word at a time,” and the answer is invariably dismissed. But that is all it is. It sounds too simple to be true, but consider the Great Wall of China, if you will: one stone at a time, man. That’s all. One stone at a time. But I’ve read you can see that m*****f*****r from space without a telescope.”  Goodreads

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Yup.  You nailed it Mr. King.

BIC