A Sweet Award...

I want to say a big thank you to Rosemary Gemmell who has awarded me the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award.

These awards are a great way of making new friends and learning a lot from other bloggers.

Now the picture alone makes me feel hungry-which is not good when I'm trying to lose weight...:-)

So before I pass the award on, I have to find 7 things you may not know about me...

1. When I was in the Brownies, I was an Imp. I only got to be the Sixer about three months before I had to go up to the Guides.

2. I have Maltese ancestry.

3. I once got lost on a day trip (as a child) and was found watching a Punch and Judy show by the Cutty Sark- the Tea Clipper in dry dock at Greenwich.

4. I went on a camping holiday with my triplets when they were only 7-8 months old- this could explain why they don't like camping...:-)

5. As it's the start of the Chinese New Year- I'm a Pig/Boar.

6. My ears are not pierced- I wear clip earrings.

7. I was in the choir at Secondary School. Sadly I can no longer hit high notes...

Now here are my nominees for the Sweet Blog Award:

Scribbler Maxi's Musings

The Blogathon Challenge

StForce's Writing Blog

SK Adams

A Likely Story

KDP Select- Is it For You?

I know a few writers who have put their Kindle Direct Publishing books into this scheme and have seen a good response to their fiction and have recommended it.

But is it worth signing your KDP book up to the Amazon.com lending scheme?

If you haven't heard of the scheme or have and aren't sure if it's for you, then you'll find this article by author Caroline McCray (on the Publishing Perspectives website) a useful introduction.

Basically you are taking part in a lending scheme. US Amazon Prime members can borrow a book once a month and if it's your book you will get money from the Kindle Owners Lending Library Fund-you need to read how this is worked out.

But like everything, with advantages there are also disadvantages...

You have to offer exclusivity to KDP Select. So if you sell your e-book via your website, Smashwords or any other place, you'll not be able to for the 90 days you're signed up to KDP Select.
If you are selling your book in a hard copy, or any other (non-digital) format, you don't have the same restriction on selling elsewhere.

I can see that the scheme would mean your work would reach a wider audience- and we all know how word of mouth can sell books- but you can't absolutely guarantee it will result in more sales. For many it has, but there are probably books that don't or get very few.

It could be seen in some eyes as Amazon having found another method of dominating the book market.
But, when even agented (new) writers are not being taken on, because publishers seem to be wanting 'exceptional' books, you can't blame a writer for doing whatever they can to get their books to willing readers...