New at Amazon and how it affects us

11/29/12                                         Return to Scribbleworks Publications


Interesting thing about the internet, it's always changing. Every time you think you have a handle on all the new stuff out there something new pops out. Take for example Amazon.com. Over the last year they have expanded their offering to other continents. The list of countries that became available, as locations where our books are now being offered, started out one block at a time. The first was Great Briton, then the whole European set of countries came online as different blocks. Now India and Japan is another set of countries that our books are being sold on.

What stands out to me is the fact that our titles are only printed in English. We have seen sales rise in Great Briton but to be honest I'm not holding my breath for a Japan or Italy, for example, to become part of our portfolio in commerce. Now I understand that these expansions are for the benefit of our diverse population so they do not have to appeal to organizations their home countries to find a publisher so they can be published. But I find the fact that the internet being sectioned off disconcerting. Why isn't the internet a one whole entity that encompasses the entire planet by now? Why are internet giants, apart from Google, not appealing to the world by inserting a translator on their pages instead of having to work in separate internet communities?

I think that Amazon is forward thinking in that they want to appeal to the world community but...
All of these separate internet communities makes me think that the only way to appeal to a world market will be to expand our titles to include all the languages offered as blocks to match the way Amazon distributes to each nation offered. And in the future, will it be a requirement to offer titles in different languages to be able to sell on Amazon? Sometimes I worry about change...

Rare opportunity

11/27/12                                          Return to Scribbleworks Publications

Starting in December we will be offering an extended excerpt of A Christmas Tale here on our blog. Since this title is about Christmas we thought we would share the magic of this wonderful story from Patrick Meservier with everyone. Starting on the first, we will post a specific amount of text into the blog. It is not a terribly long story so we will be able to fit it all in before the 24th. The story is about the seven days before Christmas. Tell your friends and neighbors to come and check out this rare opportunity to see a different side of Christmas.

Goodreads link

11/27/12                                               Return to Scribbleworks Publications

Today we have made a connection that will enable one of our titles to be connected to a massive reader conglomeration. Goodreads is a website that caters to individuals who love to read. They offer programs and forums to promote well received authors and their work. Best of all, the clientele is very diverse and well read. Struggling authors with great work can be noticed faster on Goodreads than scattered on the internet alone.

Below is a link that will take you to the Goodreads website, specifically on the page where A Christmas Tale is previewed. You can leave a review there or you can click on the link at the top of the page to take back to the Scribbleworks Publications website and leave one there in the page for this title. It's always good to have options.

Goodreads reviews for A Christmas Tale

Names, emblems, icons or logos

11/20/12                                        Return to Scribbleworks Publications


There has been some discussions lately about where we should be in the logo department. Some are arguing for an icon based logo, others are suggesting that we continue with just our name, making that into our logo as time impacts our business. Some wonder if an emblem should be the way to go. A lot to think about.

With work proceeding on books on CD, many ideas have been tossed around on whether we should be going with a logo or not. It makes a difference on how to create the package to burn to a CD. Should the icon be our logo, but if we didn't have one would it matter? I tossed around just using the book cover as the icon that way there would be no confusion. If there are any ideas on the matter please chime in. We would look forward to hearing from our fans.

iTunes connection part two

11/15/12                                             Return to Scribbleworks Publications

iTunes connection




Wow! I have to say that having Joan Darcy and the 27th Observer hit iTunes so quickly surprised me. Always so proud when a plan comes together. I hope all of the future fans of this series appreciate having it available on iTunes. I know I am!

A side note;
We have been very busy lately with all the new things coming together here at Scribbleworks Publications. Some might notice the fact the the Cover for Essences is smaller then the other titles available on Amazon.com. The issue is that the format required for book covers have changed many months ago. Our previous art is now considered substandard. Soon you will see the cover art change to the adhere to the new size restriction. This cover art will not change much, just the pixel size. You will be able to see more of the details of the pencil drawing in the new sizing. Hope people will like it. Let us know if you don't. We always want to hear any comments our readers have.

Noticeable increase in traffic for Joan Darcy and the 27th observer

11/13/12                                       Return to Scribbleworks Publications



It would seem that the new cover to Joan Darcy and the 27th Observer has made a difference in being noticed over the last cover art. We have noticed a sales increase since the new cover was introduced two weeks ago. I don't mean to imply that Patrick Meservier will be retiring anytime soon over it but it does make him happy to see that the art will promote the story by itself. Currently we are putting together the pieces to complete the cover of book two, In the Eye of the Beholder. Be looking for that to come soon.

Sales outside the US

11/11/2012                                        Return to Scribbleworks Publications


Happy Veteran's day! Wanted to bring up sales that occur outside our target audience. Every once and a while we get surprised and feel the need to brag about it. One of the biggest goals, when this company started, was to bring our publications to a world wide audience. But to be realistic about the process we understood that we would have to become a very large indie publisher before those outside markets fell into our purview. Which is why we worked so hard to put our material on iTunes and Smashwords. These companies work towards world wide audiences. (As a side note, when we started this company we published only to Amazon. At the time Amazon strictly operated within the US borders. Now they to have expanded outside markets as well.) So in a round about way, our body of work in now available around the world.

The item I wanted to brag about was that we sell books in the UK, far more than I would have expected in fact. We publish only in the English language currently so our expectation to sell in France or Italy is rather slim. But again selling outside the US is big bragging right for us because... well, because it strokes the ego. That means that we must be doing something right.

Currently we only publish books written by Patrick Meservier, but that will change in the future. We are looking to branch out a little not to mention the contest. Oops! I may have prematurely let out the secret. Keep watching the website, link is at the top of the page, there will be a new page that is dedicated to just the contest we will run from time to time.

discoveries about the blogger-sphere.

11/08/2012                                       Return to Scribbleworks Publications



Looked up some stats today for our new blog. There have been some hits, not many, only because we are new on the blog scene. Our expectations were not to come out with millions of hits up front. We understood that this would be an uphill battle. However I must say, the ones that came in on our stats were certainly not expected. Some hits came in from out of the country. Here are some interesting facts. We are being watched by one site in Russia and another in Germany. A handful came out of the USA, which I expected most of our market to be in. Some of the sites in the USA are from other websites that keep tabs on what's going on in the internet. One actually is a site that assigns monetary value to website based on a number of considerations. It's interesting reading, check it out. http://www.uglystat.com/ We are not on it per say as we are part of the conglomerate of Google but I'll bet you'll be astounded at how much Google is worth.

review for Joan Darcy

11/06/2012                          Return to Scribbleworks Publications 

Here is an exceptional review I thought worthy to put on our blog page about Joan Darcy & The 27th Observer, The Telescope of Elsewhere.



Harry Potter all over again?

I picked up Joan Darcy & the 27th Observer, The Telescope of Elsewhere several days ago. I found the beginning somewhat slow but Joan’s sudden appearance at an orphanage without a memory drew me in, I yearned to find out about her past. It’s clear from the start that Joan was no normal teenager. 

Joan is gifted in her ability to have no fear of gangs or boys, a ruthless combination as an orphan against those who seek to oppress her, but to what end? What happened in her past that moved her to become so courageous? But then the toy telescope showed up in her life. That’s when the story begins to take off. 

Joan Darcy begins to recall memories. She has been devoid of such things for a time, however these memories are very old and include intimate knowledge of places and war hundreds of years in the past. Her new friends, Miranda and Milton Caldwell, decide to take up the cause of helping her to regain information about her past. Strangely her past is connected to an organization that also offer philanthropy towards Autistic individuals. Questions build faster than answers.

Now I will not give too much away about the ever increasing pace of the story but I will reveal that the telescope shows the viewer other worldly images. Cleary Joan is somehow connected to what the telescope shows, what is not clear is how. The story is suspenseful as the connection unfolds to the end.

I found the story exciting and very fresh. It certainly doesn’t have wizards, magic, or realms in middle Earth. The story relies on real cutting edge science which makes it so desirable to read as a science fiction fan. Things to watch for as a reader, never ask what Pisscannte means (Yes, this is the true spelling.) and don’t miss the paper airplane trick, it gives new meaning to how dangerous paper can really be. I can’t wait to read the next installment in this coming five book series.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)


Bart Cassangway

old/new cover art for Joan Darcy, Telescope of Elsewhere

11/06/2012                                   Return to Scribbleworks Publications 

New style

As promised here is the updated cover art for the first book in the Joan Darcy series:

Old style 

As you can see, some story elements have been placed onto the covers to give these items greater importance. The yellow emblem took a lot of time to design and the artist didn't want to let it go by switching to a photo based cover. In the end I agreed to let them insert it, but on a smaller scale. If our readers continue to follow the series, you will see that the emblems on the successive covers are each a little different than the first.


Please post your choice for the style you wish to see on future book covers in the Joan Darcy series.

the iTunes connection

                         Return to Scribbleworks Publications

iTunes link




11/6/2012
     Today it has finally happened. A Christmas Tale has crossed over to iTunes, after much nail biting and waiting. 
     Still working on adapting the Joan Darcy cover art, which allow iTunes to accept the book. But the new art will be worth it in the end. Keep watching, I will post the new art here first to compare to the original. Send your thoughts along, we would love to hear them.