Sunday 19 June 2011

A Little Kindle Experiment

Available now

A couple of my writing friends have been putting their novels on to Kindle very successfully and one of them,Chris, has been extremely helpful about how this is done. So I decided to give it a go in a smaller way!

At the moment, I have no intention of self-publishing any of my unpublished stories or novels, but I thought it might be a good idea to put together a collection of some of my published short stories. After all, they’ve only had one airing and some of them were in magazines years ago. There are also a couple of prize-winning stories among them. And I retain the copyright on them all.

So, my little experiment is now available on Amazon UK (£2.13) and Amazon US ($3.45). I chose only eight stories, all of which have vague similarities, in that they are each about relationships of some kind. The collection is titled: Reshaping the Past, with the subtitle of Short Stories of Love and Relationships. I designed the cover myself, which is really just to attract attention on the site, as it doesn’t matter on the Kindle.

The whole process was time-consuming, but the instructions Chris had provided made it all work relatively smoothly. And it was fun! Whether or not it will sell remains to be seen, but at least those particular stories are now available together and are easily downloaded by anyone who likes short stories. I can’t help thinking it’s a better use for them than lying forgotten in the archives!

Rosemary

29 comments:

Diane Fordham said...

Interesting post. Thanks Rosemary. Now there is something to think about. Another door/option opening perhaps? Do let us know how this goes please, and all the best with it. x

Joanna said...

A lovely idea, Rosemary. Let us know how it goes. I am off to Amazon right now!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Good morning, Diane - thanks for your comment. I'll certainly let you know how it goes!

Hello Joanna - thanks again for your support. You're a pal! Something for you to think about doing, perhaps?

Frances Garrood said...

I'm still very nervous about trying anything so technical, but I'm very impressed. Good luck with it, Rosemary!

Unknown said...

Good idea, Rosemary. You should try it with Smashwords as well. (see Chris)

I wondered why you hadn't used the "Romy" name for this collection?

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Frances - thank you. I like technology but I couldn't have done it without my friend's great instructions!

Hi Michael - yes, I'll have a look at Smashwords too (eventually). Keeping Romy for historical romance novels - and these stories were all originally published under my full name!

Paula Martin said...

Congrats, Rosemary - I wouldn't have a clue how to do something like that! Best of luck with your collection of stories, hope it sells well!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Paula - thanks for the comment! It was a matter of carefully following the guidelines!

Annabel Aidan said...

How lovely! I've been considering putting together some of my short stories, and I love reading short story collections, so it's going on my list.

I hope it does well for you.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Annabel - thank you for visiting! You should put some of your own together.

Jessica said...

I came across your blog via Twitter - Thanks for the great blog post - I have been toying with a similar idea :)

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hello Jessica - thanks so much for visiting! You should try it - it just takes a bit of patience to get it loaded correctly!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

What a good idea, I hope it sells well.

I love my Kindle and am always uploading, or is it downloading, books onto it.

Janice said...

This sounds like a wonderful collection, Rosemary. I've just downloaded it onto my Kindle and want to wish you lots of success with it!

Karen said...

What a great idea. I'd love to do something like this one day :o)

Can I read on my PC if I download, as I don't have a Kindle? (Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question!)

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Debs - thanks for your comment. I love my kindle too - just can't keep up with reading all the books I'm downloading (?) on to it. And I can't believe it, but the short stories have now gone into the Amazon best sellers list!

That's all to do with the kind people who have downloaded it already and I don't expect it will stay there for long!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Janice - thank you so much. I'm always grateful for your support. See comment above!

Hi Karen - you definitely should do it. I thought there was nothing to lose since the stories were previously published in various places, but I've been surprised at how much there is to gain from doing it (for personal satisfaction and seeing people's interest)!

That's kind of you wanting to read it. You can actually download free kindle for PC use. Just google Kindle for PC, and it should give you the correct Amazon site (if you want to!).

Patsy said...

Good luck with this collection.

I've considered doing something similar myself - maybe I'll pluck up courage eventually.

Carolb said...

Congratulations Rosemary, I hope you will sell lots of copies- I like the image too.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Patsy - thanks for your comment. Of course you should do it!

Hi Carol - thanks for that. I'm quite astonished at how well it's selling already!

Angela Ackerman said...

I hope it goes well, and perhaps you'll post in the future with an update!

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Angela - thanks for visiting! Will hopefully let everyone know how it goes.

myra duffy said...

Well done,Rosemary -I'm about to download them!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Myra - thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...

Great idea Rosemary and you were brave to try the techie bit yourself. You do inspire us all with your super blog and new ideas. Well done!

btw : One of my poems has been accepted for publication in 'Gutter' mag. I'm quite chuffed!

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi Leela - thanks for leaving such a lovely comment. Well done on the poem being accepted!

K.C. Woolf said...

I think it's a great idea. I'll go check it out immediately and I'm looking forward to reading your stories. :-)

John Yeoman said...

Congratulations, Rosemary, on putting your work on Kindle! That's my next great learning curve. Perhaps you could introduce me to your friend Chris :)

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hi John - thanks for visiting. I'll maybe do something about that!