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A is for Amazon

A is for Amazon
This entry is part 1 of 26 in the series A to Z 2014

Without Amazon, my book idea would be just that: an idea.

April 1, 2014: I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge again this year, this is the first entry.
Without Amazon (and a glass of wine), my book idea would have been just that: an idea.

Without Amazon (and a glass of wine), my book idea would have been just that: an idea.

I had an entirely different post planned out, all about how Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing helped me create this book and all that (and I will post that information and process in more detail later on), but it’s 9:30 PM, I just got home from a class, my kids should be asleep, well, I guess it is spring break, but my 10-year old came down and showed me the illustration he’s been working on for the book.

He finally has the bug to get him to follow through on what he said he wanted to do since we started this book project: be the illustrator. I think he just liked the title. In fact, he’s even listed in the credits as the illustrator, but, ahem, the book doesn’t actually have any illustrations.

Yet.

Now that the book was published today and we showed him how it appeared in the Amazon store and all that, I think he now believes. He came downstairs with his drawing of the three tunnels (from chapter 8), and he was so excited to get it into the book.

This KDP is turning into something larger than I … believed.

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13 Comments

    • Bradley

      Isn’t it funny that it took the “idea” actually appearing in the “real store” (Amazon is real enough for modern-day kids!) to have him get his act into gear?

      Reply
  1. Teresa Cypher

    What a wonderful way to teach your son about writing, and to love books! I think KDP has it’s place, and as long as it best suits where you’re at in your writing career, it’s a good move. It seems that the looming question is, do you want to make money or do you want to get your book in a lot of readers’ hands? I think just starting out, (I’m in the same boat) it’s advantageous to us to get the book out there, get it read, get some reviews. 🙂

    This must be downright thrilling to your son! I’m still smiling while I type this. Thanks for the feel-good post. 🙂

    Reply
    • Bradley

      It’s funny you ask “where you are in your writing career” as I hadn’t much thought about it lately. I’m just writing, I just wanted my kids to have a fun story to read at night, I thought I might be able to do something better than something we read a few months ago, I wanted to show the kids how easy it was to get it done, get it available in a store, have other people read it.

      It’s been a blast and if those are my “goals” then I’ve reached them all–and then some. It’s just been a blast this past month working on it … in fact, it hasn’t felt like work at all.

      Reply
  2. Pagadan

    I enjoy Amazon for selling my books and buying books.

    Reply
  3. Cheryl Wright

    I think it’s great that you have not only involved your son but you have inspired him as well!

    Reply
    • Bradley

      I’m so surprise at how interested they both are! It wasn’t really my intention, I just wanted to have a story they would like to hear at bedtime. We’ll see where it takes us. I want them to read their own chapters when I create the audiobook–soon!

      Reply
  4. Reflex Reactions

    Congratulations Bradley – I have checked a few times and didn’t think you were doing the #atozchallenge this year – – I haven’t quite caught up on the whole tunnel story yet but love how your kids are a part of it…

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Hi Ida, thanks for stopping by. I was busy with a zillion things, but hadn’t forgotten about A to Z. It’s a good exercise and forces you to think about other topics. My kids are now writing their own books … at least they started!

      Reply
  5. jwright823

    I’d be really interested in seeing how Amazon KDP works out, it’s always better to get it from real people who are going through the processes rather than lengthy company-approved FAQ’s which skirt around so much that needs answering!

    Stopping by from A to Z, loving your stuff so far, Jonny from The Next Chapter

    Reply
    • Bradley

      I’ll happily share my experiences here on The Cream. Of course, like with anything, it’s going to depend on how much I put into it that decides how much I get out of it. But as I was talking to someone about it yesterday, it’s already just super cool that it’s so easy to “publish” something so easily.

      Reply
  6. Manisha

    Hi ! from the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge….Congratulations for publication of your book.

    Reply
    • Bradley

      Thanks, Manisha!

      Reply

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