Monday, July 25, 2011

Interview with an ebook programer



This video is me interviewing my brother in-law, Tom Gilson who has formatted my three ebooks - Monkey & Croc, Tickle Bugs, and Pollywog to Frog. Because I didn't want to gamble with real money I offered him 20% if he would study and program my ebooks. He agreed although he let me know well after the books were making money that he had zero faith that he would ever earn any money on these projects. It doesn't come through on the video because Tom isn't really what you'd call an "animated" personality type but suffice it to say he's been tickled about Tickle Bugs...and of course "Monkey on Crack" as he affectionately puts it and "the frog book". He's made many times over the amount he would have gladly accepted had I been willing to gamble paying him money up front.

I've included a link to my friend Von's FREE ebook tutorial pdf (click here) You have to have Adobe InDesign to use it but from what I hear it's awesome! I personally haven't tried it but knowing Von and his attention to detail I'd bet that you'll have no problem following it and preparing your ebook for upload.

My books are still going strong and selling well - check back in a month or two for some more real sales stats.
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10 comments:

  1. Marielle Che-NovakJuly 26, 2011 at 6:11 PM

    That's great! I use Indesign an is such a powerful program. You have to try, a free software, called InteractBuilder, there you can animate your pages, they have tutorials and it has a friendly interface. The output format is compatible with the ipad. Glad to hear your books are doing super :)

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  2. PattiJuly 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    Nice interview. He helped me format my e-books which I am very happy about. I'm now jumping into learning to create interactive apps. All this new stuff is so fun!

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  3. AnonymousJuly 28, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    When I pasted Tom's addy it didn't come up. It may be my computer acting funky. I'll try it again. If it doesn't work, could you post a link from here or your facebook page?

    Also have you considered translating your books? Germany already has Kindle, and India should have it later this year. Don't know about Nook. But it might be a great way to expand your market.

    Agy Wilson, www.Yellapalooza.com

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  4. Will TerryJuly 29, 2011 at 8:44 AM

    Thanks Marielle - I'll have to check it out - I'm noticing so many new software applications and "build it" websites coming out lately - it seems that I hear of a new one once or twice a week now.

    Sound like you're having fun Patti - I'd love to see a link to your book(s)!

    Agy - Here's that link http://yopnik.com/publish/ Great idea about translating into other languages! I've thought about it - it seems that I'm involved in too many projects to know what to do first, second, third, etc. I need to make copies of myself like Michael Keaton in Multiplicity!

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  5. AnonymousAugust 2, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    Hi Will:)

    First of all I would like to say that I´m a big fan of your work, love your style:)

    I´m in the process of making a childrens e-book, and I was wondering about the risk of piracy, have you had any problems with that?
    And do you think the risk of piracy is bigger if the book is more expensive?

    Thank you in advance:)

    Hege:)

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  6. Will TerryAugust 2, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    Hi Hege,

    I've thought about piracy and I don't think there is anything you can do to stop it completely. If someone wants to purchase an ebook and then reproduce and distribute it electronically they could do it. People pirate movies, songs, and sure - ebooks. I think what stops most people from downloading free copies of pirated electronic files is the lack of convenience and the risk of mal and spyware.

    Retail sites like itunes, Amazon, and B&N make it really easy to download a copy of whatever file you're looking for quickly and in most cases cheaply. In certain circles it's normal to steal but I think in most it's not. At least that's my perception.

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  7. Elizabeth O DulembaAugust 2, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Great interview! Thanks for sharing. :) e

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  8. PattiAugust 3, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    Will the links to the books are on my blog on the right.
    http://pattigay.blogspot.com/

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  9. UnknownAugust 4, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Hi Will!

    I've purchasesd two of your instructional videos and just now saw the link to your friend's how-to on the ebook. Thank you so much for sharing. Just when things get a little overwhelming, you sort of come just in time! Thank you so much!

    Monette

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  10. Will TerryAugust 5, 2011 at 8:04 PM

    Thanks guys! I'll go check them out Patti!

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