Writers Remedies

Creating a Word book file to upload onto an Epub platform is easy if you know how. But if the file is a picture book, certain formatting errors often occur on the Kindle previewer that is otherwise invisible on the original document. Here’s how I fixed formatting problems with ebooks by creating a zip file for ebook conversion. Book Converter for Epub If the ebook is a text only file, such as a novel, the writer need only think about formatting text. But as in my case, if there are pictures involved all sorts of problems can occur that may only show up on the Kindle previewer. Firstly, read my article on the beginner’s guide to formatting text only books for Kindle. If the book is a picture book such as a how-to or hobby book, read my article on how to format words and text in a word file for epub (or epublishing). How to Cure Formatting Errors on Picture Books Until recently, I uploaded a simple Word.doc book file onto Kindle and Smashwords without any problems at all. Howeve...

This eerie suspense thriller follows insomniac, Luke who pays debt-stricken Gemma to perform erotic routines entitled Domestic Bliss in the dead hours. In this scene, we get a peek into the mind of a possible psychopath as Luke encounters a work colleague on the stairwell of a corporate building. It would appear this voyeur is to be feared. This excerpt is taken from Falling Awake by Charles J Harwood . Excerpt from Falling Awake by Charles J Harwood This Client is Best Left Alone Charles J Harwood Luke entered the building, took a left past the lifts and towards the stairs. The seven-storey climb never failed to provide a kick for the circulation and ensured aural hygiene from small-talk. The encroaching footfalls warned him today was not going to be one of those days. The footfalls hastened towards him and Andrew Chapelstowe, coordinator of correspondence, snagged him with his sights. ‘Mornin’ Luke. I thought I might find you here.’ Andrew waited for Luke on the corn...

The Shuttered Room by Charles J Harwood  pushes the boundaries of abduction to the limit: obsession, forbidden love and sexual chemistry. Stockholm Syndrome Romance This crime novel tells the story of hostage, Jess, who spies upon her captors from a spyhole in the bedroom floor. In this scene, she waits for her breakfast. Instead, her most feared captor, Justin emerges with a nasty surprise. A Thriller on Psychological Warfare The bolt disengaged on the ensuite door. Justin emerged through the bedroom door. He stood by the window and fished out a table runner from his pocket. Put this on,’ he said flatly. Jess’s mouth fell open, a question teetering on her lips. She stood without thinking and stared at the cloth. ‘Put this on,’ he repeated. Justin’s eyes had that glassy obsidian look she’d seen yesterday. Nonplussed, Jess took the runner and draped it over her shoulder as a scarf. Twisted Stockholm Syndrome Charles J Harwood ‘Not like...

A contemporary English drama, adapted from my novel, A Hard Lesson, the story explores betrayal, torn loyalties and peer pressure. A character study on how people behave when under the spell of a manipulative sociopath, every character is tested to the limit. Modern English Screenplay The story centres upon a teacher, Sarah who is assigned to tutor a dyslexic, Josh, who becomes a suspect to a stabbing. Her boyfriend, Frank belongs to a tightly-knit clique controlled by fearsome Kurt who lacks human empathy. Little does she realise a link exists between her job and Frank’s world. But being timid by nature, she would appear insignificant to the likes of Kurt. But the dynamics of the group begin to change when a sexual chemistry develops between her and Josh after she sets him an assignment on erotic art. One insignificant event has an unforeseen impact upon a system that would appear infallible. As a result, the story climaxes in an unexpected way. Screenplay on Kindle A Hard L...

In an ideal world, the self-published author would like to get high royalty earnings for ebook sales and yet keep the cost of the book down for readers. I learned an ebook pricing tip the hard way. By a loophole, (and on Amazon's discretion) you can sell your kindle books at competitive prices and keep most of the royalties for yourself. How? Read on. How to Keep the Large Chunk of you Book Royalty I learned a great loophole in getting maximum royalty rates for kindle book sales and yet keep the price down for the Kindle readership. When you first publish your ebook on the Amazon Kindle store you will be presented with 2 pricing options. You can either: Price your book at between 99c and $2.98 (or above $10.00 which is too high for a Kindle book) and get 35% royalties or, You can price your book at between $2.99 and $9.99 and get the 70% royalty. Every writer wants to get optimum sales for novels. Being an unknown writer, I decided to opt for setting the price of my book at...

Resizing pictures for self published illustrated books whether for epub or Createspce is a crucial yet easy to learn skill. Large images may cause the ebook to infringe the MB allowance for a Kindle platform. Images too small will result in a poor quality print book. What is the simplest way to resize images? What does Resizing Images Mean? An image that appears large on the screen does not mean it is a large image. Viewing a photograph in zoom is like looking close up at a photograph, yet the size of the photograph stays the same. In the same way, an image that appears small on the screen might have a large memory. This would be like viewing a large painting far away. The only way to determine the size of an image is to view it in a picture program and click on the image size. How to Resize Pictures for Epub A large image will take up more memory than a small image. Hover the mouse over a JPEG image in Pictures and the dimensions will be given. Digitally, an image is measured ...

You have perfectly-worded your book, and if pictures are included, they are clear and pristine. However, after uploading your book file onto a POD platform such as Createspace, the system throws back error messages that leave you stumped. Here is a list of the most common self publishing peeves and how to cure them. Formatting Peeves on Createspace In order to self publish a book for print on demand you have to ensure the book file is free of printing or formatting issues. The following are the most common problems associated with self publishing a book and how to deal with them. 1 Your Fonts have Not Been Embedded Properly You might have used exotic fonts and complex page formatting that may not convert as it should onto the POD platform, causing slight shifts between the appearance of your book on your PDF file and the print version. To prevent this, you must embed the fonts into your book file prior to saving it as a PDF. Createspace will do this for you, but I would...

You might have a great idea for a screenplay to the point you can visualize the story unreeling in your head. But how do you put the story into a screenplay format? Here are the beginners’ tips to writing your first screenplay. How to Write a Script, the Basics Conceiving a great idea for a screenplay is only the beginning of the creative journey. The writer will need to know how to put the ideas down, what to put in, what to leave out, how to format the dialogue, how to express scene transitions and action descriptions. And all with the three-act structure supporting the story. Obviously, a blank Word document is not the way to go. The screenplay should be properly formatted. You can get free screenwriting software for a variety of formats, including TV dramas, feature length films (for US and UK formats) and even soaps from BBC Writersroom. You have a choice of two screenwriting programmes, which are Scriptsmart, or the more advanced Scriptsmart Gold. Free Screenwriting Softwar...

The writer can do a lot to ensure the story entry has a fighting chance of getting shortlisted in a short story competition. The following tips on creative writing and submission guidelines may help. Short Story Advice for Writers Your short story might comprise a taut story crafted with perfect prose and the most original and compelling plot, but if the following guidelines are not adhered to, the story might just as well be crafted by chimp and scribbled on toilet paper. Word count too high. Story competitions can be quite strict on this matter, and a simple word count will expose story entries that go over. A short story competition that demands no more than 2000 words means that words in excess of this may take your entry out of the running. The wrong genre. If the competition is looking for captivating children’s stories, don’t submit an erotic yarn. Similarly, if the competition is searching for a crime story, don’t submit a sci-fi story. Submission too late. Make sur...

Every novel consists of a series of scenes, one linking to the other in an arc that becomes the story. Dull and clichéd scenes can make even the most interesting plot, a flat read. What are the beginner’s mistakes to avoid when writing scenes for fiction? How Not to Write Scenes for Fiction A novel can be compared to a painting, in that it requires contrast in elements (or colours) throughout the creation. Such elements in fiction can be described as action scenes, dialogue, narrative, description, flashbacks, segues, and climaxes. A well-written story ideally should have a smattering of each element in varying proportions throughout the novel to keep the reader engaged. Imagine a novel that contains nothing but blocks of solid descriptive text, page after page and you might get what I mean. So each scene might become more interesting with a constant flux of each element. How to Create Conflict in Novels A scene is a single occurrence or happening where conflict (and th...