Rebekah Jonesy's Blog

 I said it. I meant it. The current BMI scale used in America is based on bullshit. 

"The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a physician. He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources. In other words, it is a 200-year-old hack."

 The BMI scale, as stated, was made up to take a look at statistics that were easy to get. From there men, because it was only made with "average man" in mind, should see an actual health professional to actually get real measurements to see if they are indeed fat. Even the US military, who uses this scale, also use a tape measure to check for muscle thickness. 

Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat. A body builder, and for the most part anyone who lifts weights, are considered obese or morbidly obese on this scale. It has no means to measure fat at all, however. So someone who is fit, healthy, and has a 2% body fat can statistically be considered "over weight". 

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

Underweight, overweight, obese, and morbidly obese are nearly meaningless when based on the BMI. If you want to get an actual reading on your body fat, you need to use a pair of calipers. Yes, the pinchy metal things. 

I tried to find the older, scary looking ones, but this is the best I could get. Pretend they're scary and stabby. 

Ok yeah, there are a few more ways of checking your actual body fat content, but this is one of the easiest and accurate. You can look up more ways, but most of them require special devices. 

Now you might be asking yourself, "Why the hell is Jonesy even talking about this?" Well, mostly it's because I'm American. And we don't have the greatest healthcare system. We should all know that fat/skinny isn't a sign of health or even fitness. It's just a sign of how much the Earth is trying to drag us down. If you want to be healthy, stop looking at the scale, and look at what you can do instead. 

And if your doctor is making judgements based on your BMI, find a different doctor. Because yours is as useful as Belgian mathematician. 

 

UBL, or universal book link, is a one-click link that takes your readers to all the links where your book is sold. This way they can choose not only their favorite type of ebook, but also the store they prefer to shop from, and all you have to save is one link you can share everywhere.

You can get a UBL through books2read. You'll need to set up an account there, but it is well worth it if your publisher doesn't already have this set up by you. 

You can add links to Barnes and Noble, your website shop, Amazon, Kobo, Applebooks, Smashwords, the list goes on and on and actually does grow as books2read adds more vendors to their list. This is the best way to give one link and everyone can choose their favorite place to order their books from. Here is mine: https://books2read.com/u/4EQZGA

If you click on it you can see all the various places where my book is sold. This is also known as "going wide". For those that are not KU exclusive, this is the fastest, easiest way to go. If you are wide, then you should definitely use one of these links to make things easier for yourself and your readers. 

What's in a name?

Everything when it comes to being an author. Our author names are our brand. It's how people find us, it's what people associate with our voices and our style of story telling. And more importantly, it's how we get recognized and paid. 

Your name should be on everything you do. Take credit for all of your work. Even your smallest little scribblings. Put your name on it. Not only does it help spread your name around so people recognize you but it also helps build your SEO (search engine optimization).

Because our names are so important you also have to make certain you spell it the exact same way every time. 

Now some of you are saying, "Well duh, Jonesy, I know how to spell my name!" But not everyone uses their full name. Thomas Smith might write under Tom Smith. Julie Cumbersnatch might write under J Cumbersnatch, or J. Cumbersnatch. 

Well guess what. Thomas Smith and Tom Smith won't point to the same book. J Cumbersnatch and J. Cumbersnatch look like two different people to algorithms too. 

So before you start your authoring journey, pick a name, and a precise way of writing it, that you will continue to use. You can change it up for different genres, but according to every book store out there, that is two different authors. And that's not a good way to develop a following. 

No Rest for the Wicked
I wanted to share this again, because I suspect it will soon be made into video. Read it and see why.
This wonderful book starts out with like a western, with beautiful imagery and descriptions that make you feel as if you are there. After reading the first scene I was hooked.

The reader knows right here what kind of person Vi is. She's smart, surly, secretive, with a good heart and fluid morals. And, she likes her drinks. Already my kind of woman. I knew I was in for a fun read and I was right. But I did not foresee the twists and turns and tugs of the heart that were coming. Or the look at the past that made Vi the way she is, or how she gained her talents. Or how those talents would be used against her.

After this brief encounter with a ghost, that goes poorly but she makes end well, Vi is off on another adventure dealing with a con she had done years ago. One that she had thought was concluded satisfactorily, but the spirits aren't going to let her get away with clean. What I really liked about this book was the heart and hijinks that started with the opening scene and continued the entire book. Vi and her entire entourage of lost souls come together with all their problems and quirks to help the big hearted woman. Which is only fair really after she helped each of them out of their own predicaments. 
Make sure you get your copy of No Rest for the Wicked and follow the fun across the wild west for yourself. You can grab your copy at Amazon and other retailers
Amazon link
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130645733
Other: http://www.blackrosewriting.com/sci-fifantasy/norestforthewicked

And make sure you check out the author, another fun and amazing character

 Phoebe Darqueling is the pen name of a globe trotting vagabond who currently hangs her hat in Freiburg, Germany. In her “real life” she writes curriculum for a creativity competition for kids and edits academic papers by non-native English speakers. She loves all things Steampunk and writes about her obsession on SteampunkJournal.org. She’s been part of several Collaborative Writing Challenge releases, including the collaborative novel she coordinated called Army of Brass. Her short stories can be found in Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales, Chasing Magic, and a new collection called Cogs, Crowns, and Carriages in November. Her solo novels, Riftmaker and No Rest for the Wicked, hit shelves Spring 2019.

Get a FREE copy of The Steampunk Handbook by Phoebe Darqueling when you sign up for Phoebe’s monthly email.

 Connect in the Phoebe Darqueling Fans and United we Steampunk groups on Facebook. You can also find her on Instagramand Twitter. 

 What's an author to do when she fries her phone after 4 years of constant abuse?
RESEARCH!

And for this author on the not-so-go I've settled on this robust little dude. 

https://amzn.to/3EnI5M6

How does an author known for abusing people and things keep a delicate phone for so long? Good cases with tempered glass screen protectors. Thanks, Khrys for turning me on to those!

https://amzn.to/3EpSG9c

 

We all need help sometimes. Unfortunately I'm not licensed to give the type of help most authors need. BUT I can link you to some good people and resources with a proven track record of helping people out. 

If you simply want to hire someone to hold your hand and explain everything while also offering a collection of ala carte services for sure check out Katie Salidas.

 

Katie Salidas; from baby authors to more experienced authors, she can help keep you in line and moving forward.

“I charge flat fee of $35 an hour. Clients can purchase as little or as many hours as they need for coaching. All invoicing is done through Paypal. Coaching hours are purchased and paid for ahead of time.”

https://www.katiesalidas.com/p/freelance-services.html

If you want to keep the words of the wise on by your side while you're writing, not gonna lie I do this, make sure you snag her book, Write and Edit the Damn Book. This is not just a great guide for writing your book, but also a good guide to use before submitting your book for publishing. IE TFP is much more likely to accept your book if you have followed the guides set down in this book. 

Want to make fun little graphics to talk about your book? Check out canva.com. It's a simple, easy website to use and it can be free too! You don't need to purchase anything to use it if you stick to the free pictures and fonts. 

Want to know how to make your authoring business into a working business? Check out Creator Fire for all things business.

For a comprehensive guide apply to join the group 20booksto50k and work your way up to rainbow trout! (You'll understand once you've joined. I promise.) They literally have a tab for Guides. Click that and get started!

Are ads too confusing and scary? Well, suck it up because they are in fact confusing and scary but Mark Dawson can walk you through how to make them useful too!

If you're having problems with blurbs or covers, check out the friendly folks over at Indie Cover Project. Remember to read the rules first! 

And for those days when everything sucks and you can't make heads or tails of anything, you can of course come ask TFP for help or leave a comment on this post!

 

 

Every job has its own specific terms and phrases. Authoring and publishing is no different. So here's a quick list of some basic terms and what they mean. 

And yes, Satan himself enjoys most of these. They are the bane of our existence, but we need them. 

Basic Terms

Blurb: A short introduction to your book that will entice people to buy it. This is usually on the back of paperbacks, or the inside flap for hardbacks. It is also the description of your book that is shown on Amazon.

 

Synopsis: A complete breakdown of your book, including the ending. This is what you give to publishers/agents/anyone in the industry. It should still draw their attention, and be enticing, but also give a complete overlook. The cliff notes version.

 

Elevator pitch: This is a short spiel you can use to tell people about your book. A condensed version of your book blurb you can say in less than a minute. This is what you use for face to face conversations. You can use comparisons of popular books for this. “Think When Harry Met Sally but with monsters.”

 

Genre: The category of your book. Fantasy, science fiction, romance

 

Sub genre: The sub category of your book, usually in reference to your genre. Military science fiction, epic fantasy, cowboy romance

 

Spine Width: A calculation for the thickness of your book’s spine in your cover file. Spine width is based on your exact page count (including any additional blank pages needed to complete printing signatures) and the exact weight of your selected paper stock (which impacts each page’s thickness).

 

Trim Size: The dimensions of the final printed book. Width is always listed first, then height.

 

Gutter: The margin in the middle of a book when you open it (usually there’s some "extra" blank space near the center fold to make it easier to read)

 

Foreword: a short introduction to a book, typically by a person other than the author. You don’t need to worry about having this.

 

Chapter header: The design or graphic that every chapter has at or near the chapter title.

 

Scene break: A blank space, with or without a graphic (scene break graphic), where the story or POV changes.

 

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC): A formatted, but possibly not fully edited, version of your book that you hand out to readers to acquire reviews for your release date.

 

Teaser/Reader Magnet: Either a prequel or the first couple of chapters of your book that you offer for free to get people interested in your book. It is a formatted, edited copy of your book in ebook format.

 

Release Day: Your publication date.

 

Book Birthday: The anniversary of your book’s publication date.

 

If you're here, you're probably one of the Three Furies Press authors. As such I am going to base this on what we share with and teach our authors. 

We like to keep things in order. And by we I mean Me, actually. I like having a plan for everything and for that plan to be in order. That's why we start with 0 Get Started. That's a folder we put together to help you with what your next steps should be once you've signed on with a publisher. But maybe you need a bit more info on that. No problem, let's break some stuff down.

If you're looking for a handy dandy book to read through and get some outside perspective, I highly recommend this one by Katie Salidas. 

The very first thing you should do as a brand new author is tell people. Shout it from the rooftops! TFP even gives you a simple graphic to share around to let people know that you are now a signed author with a publisher. Show it to everyone. Post it everywhere. 

If you don't have a website, make one. Even if you're like me and know nothing about websites you can set up free easy to use ones, like this one on blogger.com. 

Once you have one, you can set up a link tree to all the places where people can find your books. Where are those places? Well that's what you're going to set up next!

Get ready to be an author with a product, your book, to sell. How can you do that? Sign up for author accounts!

http://goodreads.com/

https://storyoriginapp.com/

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile

https://www.bookbub.com/home/

https://www.prolificworks.com/

This will probably take you a few hours total. But it will come in handy to have everything done and ready to go early. That way when your book is up for preorders there will already be an author account to attach to with all these places. So get these ready early, and you will save yourself a hassle later.

Storyorigin, prolificworks, and bookbub are all places where you can reach out to readers. Either to find reviewers, sales/ad opportunities, or find people who will be interested in your mailing list. 

If you're a brand new author and this is your debut novel, you may not have a mailing list yet, and that's fine. It's also a topic for a different day. For today, just get these websites set up and ready to go so you have a solid platform for your authoring business.