How a Song Writer Inspired a Story Writer

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Today, I decided to share a paper I wrote a few years ago, when I returned to college for a short time. Surprisingly, I had to retake an English class because it had been too many years since I'd had one. I could have challenged the class, but I thought it might be fun to retake it. What's funny is that they were willing to accept credits for English classes that are much more complicated.

Anyway, this paper is all about writing inspiration, which is one of our biggest challenges. I hope you can find some inspiration in it.

What do you think of when you hear the name Weird Al Yankovic? Do you giggle a little or jeer? Do you find him brilliant or just another rip-off artist? Regardless of your opinion, he has successfully entertained his fans for over forty years. A fact that makes him a creative genius for this comedy fiction writer. And after listening to his interview on the podcast How to Write Funny, it’s clear that whatever writing project you tackle, all writers experience similar highs and lows. Discovering that Weird Al can conquer this hurdle, and has consistently produced award-winning comedy, also makes him a true inspiration.

Al Yankovic, better known as Weird Al, is only five years older than me, which means I have witnessed his career firsthand. And I’ve remained a fan even though a long time had passed since I had viewed any of his videos. How could I not be? I’m a lifetime connoisseur of bizarre and dark comedy, and it’s my favorite genre to write. Catching up on his songs only took thirty-minute on his YouTube channel and an hour on iTunes. As I watched his old work from the 1980s, it was like a blast to the past in a time machine, during the early days of cable television and the birth of MTV. Don’t get me started on the big hair, shoulder pads and leg warmers.

Since Weird Al released his first recording in 1976, he has written 150 parodies and original songs, sold 12 million albums, and performed 1000 live shows. Mandatory Fun, released in 2014, hit #1 the first week it was out (qtd. Wikipedia). How has this guy been able to parody so many records over the years and with such continued success? Well, his podcast interview provided all the insight needed to answer this question.

As I hit the play link to start the podcast, I wondered what I’d take away from a discussion with Weird Al. After all, he has spent most of his life writing lyrics, and I write fiction. Then again, the two formats have one thing in common. Storytelling has been around in many forms since humans developed the ability to communicate their tales. Even his preference for parodies date back to the 14th century, with the lyrical form gaining popularity in the 1700s (qtd. Wikipedia). Bottom line, whatever the format of the narrative, we’re both attempting to entertain. If my hunches were right, I would learn from his methods and success no matter the medium.

First, I found that past influences, including bullying, shaped his life and career. Probably one reason he spends a lot of time in his head, an activity in which I can relate. Weird Al’s reminiscing about the harassment he endured flashed me back to episodes with my own tormentors, so skilled at delivering burning humiliations that tied my stomach into knots. Dickkers, the interviewer, pointed out that these incidents lead some comedians to dark places, where a need for revenge becomes the inspiration for their jokes (qtd. Dickkers). This is not my process for writing comedy and refreshing to find it’s not Weird Al’s.

Instead, he escaped through an obsession with Mad Magazine. Mine was watching hours of The Three Stooges reruns and every science fiction and horror B movies that aired on Chicago’s local television stations. In my teens, building worlds with pencil and paper provided a means to create, control and release the pain. Common themes if you grew up in the 70s and 80s, and proof that laughter is the best medicine, or at least a way to survive childhood before the internet.

While continuing to listen, Weird Al’s upbeat nature drew me in. He’s authentically himself in real life and his music videos. The more he spoke, the more I liked him, and the more I wanted to learn from him.

There’s a high-level of consistency regarding Weird Al’s career, including him staying true to his brand. From the very beginning, he quit college radio when producers restricted his show’s format and personal expression. After hearing this, I felt jealous he was so comfortable with self at an early age. At 55 I’m still struggling to figure out who I am as a comedy writer.

And speaking of comedy writing, Weird Al’s lessons on making people laugh included familiar rules I’ve strived to master. Like all writers, he starts with an idea, expands upon it, and completes many drafts. He works in layers, starting with a strange and stupid premise he builds upon to deliver the punchline.  

As a song writer, he’s a poet, rhyming his way to laughter with his outrageous lyrics. His resources are a little different, although maybe they shouldn’t be. When the conversation turned to rhyming dictionaries, I was quick to google resource like rhymedb.com and rhymezone.com and stored them away in my browser’s bookmarks. He’ll be with me in spirit when I call upon the sites to twist and turn a character’s dialog.

“Fat,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” hit, is a perfect example of his style. I re-watched this play on America’s obsession with food while eating a salad. When he sang, “Don’t you call me pudgy, portly or stout…” in a fat suit, struggling to jump the turnstile in a New York subway tunnel, a spit-take of dressing droplets escaped my mouth and landed on the computer monitor (Yankovic).

Weird Al is so much more than a writer. During the podcast he talked about trying to master Michael Jackson’s moves in “Eat It,” but no matter how hard he tried, he came off ridiculous. Call it luck, but his awkward lashing of limbs was the best part of that video.

Being comfortable with his nerdiness works. His career would fall flat without this ability, and he’s the first to admit this. I see him as one with his material and that helps the spectators relax until he hits the crowd with another of his absurdity.

His outrageous social commentaries capture attention—another reason for his success. Either he makes light of humanities atrocities or pokes fun at popular culture. Quite a spectrum of audience participation, considering the peoples of the world endlessly hand him ideas for his parities.

I’m drawn to his more controversial parodies because the lyrics make me uncomfortable to the point I laugh. Others may find him offensive for this reason. I argue that 90% of comedy is at someone’s expense, and there’s no denying Weird Al is a master of knowing who to spotlight at any period in recent history. He also deserves credit for making fun of himself in the mix.

With such variety in his work, it’s understandable he confessed in the podcast to becoming bearish when he writes. Like most authors, he struggles to complete projects. Hearing this, I let out a long exhale. The program had reached a point where we could commiserate about how miserable editing can be. Instead, he kept on a positive track, which was exactly what I needed. He reminded me that the pain writers undergo while finishing prose is just another part of the process. In the end, we should enjoy the high and physical release that comes along with the final save of a completed manuscript. If only I could replay this message, day and night, through AirPods.

Moving on, minus my self-pity party, I felt encouraged finding out that Weird Al can take up to a month to perfect the lyrics in a parody. This is the same time I’ve invested in writing eighty-thousand-word novels during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). With a lot of patience, I’ve completed this contest three times. Thanks to Weird Al’s advice, I was seeing the light.

Over the years, Weird Al has remained consistent with production. He obsesses over new ideas and keeps going until a parody is finished. He understands the importance of letting the words flow in the first draft. And he works through the highs and lows, accepting that not everything works. I long for his drive to keep the creative spark alive and finish projects no matter what it takes.

Sometimes walking away is necessary to clear your head. Then, resuming on another day with a fresh look and positive attitude is all that’s needed to complete the work. Other times, a piece is only fit for the trashcan. A repository that sends chills up my spine. Not all writing is created equally good, but disposing of prose is like asking an author to gauge out an eye. Again, Weird Al and I are similar in that every word has a place, whether released to the public or stored in a folder—paper or electronic—for some fan or opportunist to uncover when I’m dead.

Weird Al’s most valuable message is that he hasn’t changed the way he creates. Instead, he feels he’s gotten better at it. And it’s not just about the words. He mentioned staying focused and organized with all that he does, and I doubt he takes no for an answer. After years in his industry, he’s observed firsthand the success of peers with similar principles. Because he gets things done, his music continues to be relevant and his career persists.

As the podcast neared the end, his support for fellow comedians and the future of comedy kicked into high gear. The Internet opened creative arts for the newer generations of comedians like it did for other types of writers and musicians. Many artists have stopped seeking agents and managers and production companies. Nor do we see each other as competitors. Self-publication is the route I chose after a lack of progress with an agent and publisher. My professional writing career has spanned over three decades, and with it comes a community of people ready to share their knowledge of craft or lift each other during dry periods. Weird Al made it clear in his How to Write Funny podcast interview that he too is always there to help fellow performers.

Now that social media is the twenty-first century stage, holding oneself back seems insane. Artists find their audience and are better equipped to communicate with fans. Weird Al foresaw this transition early in his career and has grown with the times by keeping his work on demand, for all to see.

It’s a good thing that we writers stick together like a twelve-step program. We are honest about what we do, like Weird Al was in his podcast. As hard as this job is, at least I’m not alone. It’s how I know that all the characters who haunt me daily to release their stories will flow yet again. Weird Al’s advice provided a boost I need to get there. And later, my experiences will allow me to pay it forward to another writer.

Works Cited

“Parody Music.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody_music.

““Weird Al” Yankovic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 June 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic.

“List of songs recorded by “Weird Al” Yankovic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 June 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_recorded_by_%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic.

“Alyankovic.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/channel/UCDBrVr0ttWpoRY-_yZajp2Q.

Yankovic, Weird Al. "Weird Al" Yankovic, 25 June 2021www.weirdal.com.

“Episode 5: Weird Al Yankovic.” How To Write Funny, interviewed by Dickkers, Scott, 20 Mar. 2019, howtowritefunny.com/episode-5-weird-al-yankovic.

How to Standardize the Punctuation in a Manuscript Before Submitting or Formatting Your Book

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In a previous post, I showed you how to Remove The Extra Sections, Breaks, and Spaces Before Submitting or Formatting Your Book. This is not the only messy situation you might encounter in your manuscript. Your punctuation can be just as inconsistent, which causes major issues when formatting your book. Plus, your book looks sloppy, and sloppy books get bad reviews. Below is an example of inconsistent punctuation.

Forgive my pathetic use of ellipsis and em dashes while you take a look at the punctuation in red. See the em dash after "mood?" Now look at the em dash between "him" and "as." I've seen many manuscripts with this inconsistency throughout, or there's a mix of en dashes (shorter) with em dashes (longer). The best and proper punctuation format is the longer em dash that is after "mood." Now look at the quotation marks and notice they are not the same type. We all know you should always use the pretty slanted symbol before "Mitchel," but the straight quotation marks somehow seem to sneak their way in. The final example is the ellipsis. For formatting purposes, always use the one that displays as one punctuation mark and not 3 periods. The reason for this is that 3 periods in an eBook will separate, so you could have one period on one line and start the next line with the remaining periods. An ellipsis will stay with the preceding text.

Once again, you can simply use Find/Replace to fix these issues in a blink of an eye. Here's how.

1. Open your manuscript in MS Word.

2. Open Find and Replace with CTRL+H. Or locate the Editing section on the Home tab and hit the down arrow on the Find option on the upper-right side, and choose the Advanced Find… option.

MS Word Find and Replace

NOTE: In some cases you can copy a symbol from your manuscript such as straight quotes, or you can use a carat code (^), or use the Special pull down at the bottom of the Find and Replace dialog box. Note that not all punctuation has a caret code, so the process below is a bit inconsistent.

3. Find straight double quotes ( " ) using ^034 and Replace by typing in the fancy double quotation mark ( “ ). The correct left or right will insert where needed. Rarely, a quotation mark inserts backward, but the only way to find it is by reading through the text.

4. Find straight single quotes ( ' ) using ^039 and Replace with fancy single quotation mark ( ‘ ). Again, the correct left or right style will insert, but they too can insert backward on rare occasions.

5. Find em dashes with 2 dashes ( -- ) and Replace with actual em dashes (—) or ^+ or select it from the Special characters pulldown at the bottom of the Find window.

6. Find ellipses with three separate periods ( ... ) and Replace with the ellipsis character (…) or ^0133. Note there is no ellipsis option under Special Characters.

7. And don't forget to save your changes.

More About Caret Codes

At this point you might be wondering how to find other caret codes for other forms of punctuation. Here's the easiest way to find them in MS Word. This is so much easier than doing a Google search, which I did countless times to no avail. Please let me know if you find a decent list of them. I couldn't even find these instructions anywhere, so I had to figure it out myself.

1. Click on the Insert tab, then go to the far right, to the Symbols section.

2. Click on Symbol, then More Symbols. A box of symbols will pop up.

3. In the top box, find the punctuation or symbol you need and click on it.

4. At the bottom right, find the Character Code and From fields. Click on the from option and choose ASCII (decimal).

5. Make note of the character code for use in Find/Replace. Enter it there with a preceding caret (^) and a zero (0). For example, if you looked up the ellipsis in the symbols, you'll find the character code 133, so you’d enter ^0133 in the Find field.

Now go spit shine that manuscript and impress agents. If you're self publishing, you'll save yourself A LOT of time.

If you come across something you don’t know how to fix, go to Services > Ask a Book Formatting Question in the menu and let me know how I can help.

Automatic Targeting Ads for Books with Amazon Advertising’s Sponsored Ads

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Sponsored Products ads are the type of Amazon ad that authors use to create book ads. Automatic Targeting is one of the ad types, and it is the easiest ad to create. Because automatic targeted ads require little to no planning, these are the perfect starter ads for authors new to advertising on Amazon.

It is important to note that automatic targeting is one of the least effective ads because you have little control over the ad targeting and where they place your ad. And you can only bid at the targeting group level, explained below. Amazon controls the product targeting and assigns the keywords for you. Later, you can review and research the terms Amazon targets and use negative targeting on the ads dashboard to control whether Amazon continues to target certain terms, which you’ll learn in another checklist.

This type of ad displays in 3 different places including at the top of search results, within search results, and on product pages. Again, Amazon decides where they’ll place your ad.

While automatic targeted ads are inflexible, there is one very good reason to use them. As mentioned, Amazon controls your keywords. Typically, finding keywords for your manual ads is extremely time consuming and not always effective. Amazon, on the other hand, always knows which keywords are trending, and they use these trends to promote your book where they know it will sell.

What are targeting groups? There are 4 different options in the targeting groups that you can set up when you create the automatic targeted ad or later when you manage the ad. You won’t set them up in this checklist, but you will update them later, in the checklist to manage these ads. But it’s good to understand what they are and how they are used, so they’re explained below:

The following two group types are based on keyword searches made by a customer and show your ad in search results based on similar assigned keywords.

Close match: With this match type, customers enter search terms and Amazon delivers ads for books that are closely related to the customer’s expectations. For example, if your book is fantasy and the customer searches for “fantasy books,” your book ad could deliver.

Loose match: With this match type, customers enter search terms and Amazon delivers ads for books that are loosely related to what the customer expects. In this case, if your book is fantasy and the customer searches for “fantasy books with vampires and werewolves,” your book ad could deliver even if the monster type in your book isn’t the same.

The following two group types show your ad on book pages that are like your book. 

Substitutes: Your ad will deliver when a customer lands on a book page for a book similar to yours. If you write comedy, Amazon will deliver your book on other comedy books’ pages.

Complements: Your ad will deliver when a customer lands on a book page that complements your book. So here, if your book is about demons in an urban fantasy setting but not related to romance, your book could still end up on an urban fantasy romance book page.

If you’re confused, don’t worry, I’ll explain in a later post. Right now it’s more important to get an ad running so you can first learn the rest of the Campaign Manager tool.

NOTE: If you haven’t set up your Amazon Ads account, check out You Don’t Need a KDP Account to Manage Amazon Ads for Your Books. The blog post is for authors who don’t have a KDP account but do have an Author Central account, where they can access and set up an AmazonAds account.

How to Create a Sponsored Products Automatic Targeting Ad

Now you know enough to create an ad. Follow these instructions to start your first ad.

1. Log in to your Amazon Ads account. If you haven’t set up Amazon Ads or need help logging in, see 4 Ways to Log In to Access Amazon Ads.

2. Once you're in the Campaign Manager, click on the Create Campaign button on the left side above the list of campaigns. The page below will display.

3. As mentioned earlier, most book ads are created using the Sponsored Products option, so go ahead and click on the Continue button in this section.

4. Fill out the page as follows:

Top Section

AD FORMAT: Choose Custom text ad. This allows you to add a short description about your book later.

PRODUCTS: Find the book you want to advertise and click on the Add button. Only add one book title in one book format. Never advertise paper and eBooks in the same ad.

IMPORTANT: Always advertise paper and eBooks in separate ads. This is because their audience is different, so their targeting is different. For example, certain books like fiction sell better in eBook format. Journals sell better in paper format. Paper sells better for traditionally published books and eBooks sell better for self-published books. And the list goes on as to why you should advertise book formats separately. Know that an ad for a paper book on an eBook page or in search results, and vice versa will likely not result in a sale.

TARGETING: Choose Automatic Targeting.

AUTOMATIC TARGETING: Enter an amount within the range of the suggested bid unless the suggested bid is too high for your budget. The suggested bid is the highest amount that Amazon will charge you if someone clicks on your ad. I suggest you keep it low to start, and I'll show you how to maintain your ads in another post, which includes increasing and decreasing bids. Note the How to Set Bid Pricing link in the upper right of the Automatic Targeting section. Read it to get a better understanding of how bids work.

NEGATIVE KEYWORD TARGETING & NEGATIVE PRODUCT TARGETING: Leave these sections blank. We will update negative targeting after the ad has run for a week or two.

CREATIVE: Add custom text or a description for the book here. Something enticing so that readers will want to purchase the book. Be careful with symbols because this section is audited, and I've had ads rejected for including too many symbols or punctuation.

Campaign Section

CAMPAIGN BIDDING STRATEGY: Choose Dynamic Bids - Down Only. This setting ensures that your bid will never go above what you set it as. In fact, the bid will go down from your max bid for certain circumstances. For newbies to AmazonAds, this further provides a comfort level that you won't start your day, checking your ads to find a $100 advertising spend. Again, Amazon has provided a help link that will explain how this section works.

SETTINGS: For Campaign Name, add a short, descriptive names for your campaign. Suggest you start the name with the book title and the ad type, both in an abbreviated format. For my book series, I do the first letter of the words in the title and add -AT for Automatic Targeting, such as CFO-AT. I suggest his because using a short form of an ad name makes it easier to find in the Campaign Dashboard later.

For Portfolio and Start & End Date, make no changes. You can change these later. I'll explain best practices for both in another post.

For Daily Budget, consider your pocketbook again. This is the amount you are willing to spend on the campaign each day. Start low and increase this number if the ad campaign proves ineffective. Consider that if you add $2.00 as the cap, that's a $62 spend at most for the month. When you start advertising more books, that number goes up. Remember that these are the least effective book ads, but the higher a bid doesn't mean better results.

5. Click on Launch Campaign. You’ll receive confirmation that your campaign was created successfully.

6. Click on Go to Campaign Manager.

7. Page down to the campaign list, and you’ll find the campaign in a pending status. When the ad is running, the status will change to Delivering. If your ad fails to deliver, you will more likely than not need to contact support. They provide little to no feedback on why they reject ads.

If you're feeling adventurous, click on the ad and peruse around the maintenance options. But let your automatic targeted ad sit for a week or two before making any changes. It's important to not get trigger happy on changing bids. During this time, you are learning how Amazon handles your book ad, and Amazon is learning how they should present your book.

See, setting up your first ad was pretty easy. Now the fun begins because there is so much more to learn. In the next blog post I'll help you check your Automatic Targeting ad for needed bid changes, negative targeting, and more. Until then, resist the urge to gawk at your ads. I know, I know, it's like getting a new gadget or toy. Peeking once a day or every couple days is fine and won't suck up too much of your time.

4 Ways to Login and Access Amazon Ads

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Amazon makes it easy for you to access their ads platform from a number of places. The Amazon Advertising dashboard is where you will create new ads and manage existing ads. In this checklist you will access the website and set up your account for the first time. There are also instructions on how to access Amazon Advertising from KDP and Author central.

Amazon Ads Website

In this section you will access amazonads.com and set up an Amazon Ads account if you haven’t haven’t set one up yet. There are also instruction to log in when you return to manage your ads.

Set Up Amazon Advertising

Use this checklist if you are accessing Amazon Ads for the first time. Once this section is complete, you will need to set up your account, which is not in this checklist.

1.Go to Amazon Advertising at advertising.amazon.com or amazonads.com.

NOTE: This checklist assumes you are in the United States. Consult KDP help to find the platform for the country in which you publish.

2. Choose Register.

3. In step 1 choose Sponsored Ads > United States.

4. Choose Products Sold on Amazon > Kindle Direct Publishing Account.

5. Enter your Amazon Login information. Your Amazon Advertising dashboard will open.

IMPORTANT: Your Amazon log in information is typically what you use for your KDP account. If you don't have a KDP account, use the Amazon account you use for your Author Central account.

Sign Into the Advertising Dashboard

If you are returning to Amazon Ads, follow these steps to log in to your account.

1. Go to Amazon Advertising at advertising.amazon.com.

2. Choose Sign In.

3. Choose United States, then click on Sign In.

4. You will either need to log in to your Amazon account or the ads dashboard will open.

KDP Marketing Page

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will open the ads dashboard from KDP.

1. Sign in to your KDP account.

2. Choose Marketing from the top menu.

3. Go to the Amazon Ads section and choose amazon.com, then click on Go to Ads Console. Your Amazon Advertising dashboard will open.

KDP Bookshelf

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will start an ad for a chosen book from the KDP Bookshelf.

1. Sign in to your KDP account.

2. On the Bookshelf page, find the book you want to advertise.

3. Under Kindle Book Options, choose Promote and Advertise.

NOTE: If Promote and Advertise isn’t available, use the More (...) menu to find it.

4. Go to the Run an Ad Campaign box and choose amazon.com, then click on Create an Ad Campaign. 

5. The page to start an ad campaign opens instead of the ads dashboard. If you want to go to the ads dashboard, click on Campaign Manager at the top left.

Author Central

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will open the ads dashboard from your Author Central account.

1. Sign in to your Author Central account.

2. Click on Reports + Marketing at the top of the page.

3. Go to the Amazon Advertising box on the right side.

4. Choose United States under Choose a Marketplace.

5. Click on Go to Ads Console and you’ll go to the Ads dashboard.

It's that easy... and quite convenient to access the Amazon Ads dashboard from so many different locations.

You Don’t Need a KDP Account to Manage Amazon Ads for Your Books

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Amazon Author Central Reports and Marketing Option

If you have an Amazon Author Central account, you've probably seen an Amazon Advertising box in the Reports + Marketing section. This is a perfect option for traditionally published authors who don't have a KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) account. And it's quite essential for an author to have an Amazon Advertising account because, as you'll hear me say over and over again, you won't sell books on Amazon unless you advertise.

You might be afraid to venture into advertising on Amazon, I know I was. The platform is intimidating at first. And having Amazon suck up your royalties can send chills up your spine. Really, it's just a matter of finding the right formula for your books to keep costs down while making sure your book is seen on product pages and in search results.

But I digress, focusing back on the purpose of this blog post, which is to help you create an Amazon Advertising account. I'll freak you out on the complexity creating and maintaining ads in a later post.

It's simple to set up an Amazon Ads account after you've accessed your Author Central account.

1. Start by clicking on the Reports + Marketing menu option as displayed by our model.

2. Page down and look on the right side, where you'll find the Amazon Advertising box shown next.

3. Stick with the United States and click on Go to Ads Console.

NOTE: It’s best to start your advertising venture through the United States and then try other countries after you’ve created some successful campaigns.

4. If you are new to Amazon Ads and haven’t set up your account yet, an informative message that states, "The pen name and titles claimed in your Author Central account will be automatically synced to your ads account." displays on the page.

5. Click on the Go to Ads Console button, and you'll go to the Campaign Manager, where you start a new ad campaign. You will create ads for your book using Sponsored Products option.

6. Click on the Continue button to progress to creating an ad.

While we will not create an ad in this post, it’s good to know that there are 2 types of ads you can create:

Automatic Targeting: This is the easiest ad to set up and puts the control in Amazon’s hands because they decide how and where to promote your book. 

Manual Targeting: This option allows you to decide how to target your ads using categories and keywords. You’ll have better success with this type of ad, but they require more maintenance.

7. We'll end the instructions pointing out that Amazon wants money for the ads you run, which is why you'll need to click on the Billing and Payments link to provide a payment method.

Now take a deep breath and close your browser window. We’ll discuss planning your ads in another post. No, you can't just set 'em and forget 'em. Here's just a few things that come next:

Budgeting: Decide how much money you want to hand over to Amazon. This is a huge up front task because you have to consider more that what's in your wallet. Amazon Advertising is like gambling because you have to bid against other authors and hope it's high enough to get you book seen. This process can take a long time and include a loss of a lot of hair before you see a profit.

Category and Keyword Collection: This is equally time consuming, especially while finding keywords that work with your book. You can use words that describe your book, authors who write similar to you, titles that are similar, and so much more. For example, I run book ads for Amazon Prime Day and the keywords are directed toward readers looking for book deals on those days.

Ad Maintenance: Besides budgeting money, you'll budget time to watch your ads, especially category and keyword ads. This is necessary to make sure your campaigns are effectively targeting the right readers and that your bidding is working. This process helps teach Amazon the best ways to sell your books.

At this point, just the thought of moving forward with your ads may stress you out, so go get a cup of camomile tea, put up your feet, and chill out. While there's much more to come, we'll eat that elephant one bite at a time. Corny but my favorite idiom.

5 Reasons Author Central is an Essential Part of Your Author Presence in the Amazon Bookstore

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Do you want readers to buy your books? Of course you do. Then don’t just put your books in bookstores, put yourself out there too. Amazon’s Author Central brings both you and your books together in one place that you control. Besides introducing you to Amazon’s customer base, it encourages readers to buy more of your books, and here’s how.

1. Author Follows

Amazon is invested in understanding their customers’ preferences because it results in more sales, and every store wants to sell more products. The Author Follow button is one way Amazon can track what their reader base likes and is more likely to buy. Readers can follow authors from their Author Central page or any of their books’ product pages, but only if the author has an Author Central account. And once a reader follows an author, Amazon will show that author’s books to her in emails and on their website to promote more sales.

Identify the number of followers you have on your Author Central control panel. 

Similar to how you would encourage fans to follow your social media accounts and GoodReads author page, you should encourage readers to follow you on Author Central for the reasons previously mentioned. Put a link to the page on your website and include it on your promotional materials. Get your number of followers up, and you will sell more books.

2. Brand Awareness

Your Author Central page reflects your brand as an author. The profile you publish tells readers who you are and what you write. If you are producing a series, customers can easily find the next book or two they’d like to read in highlighted series sections. There are places to tell readers which of your books  they should read, along with recommendations for the books you enjoy. 

It’s important to note that the author name link on a book’s detail page or in search results directs to an author’s Author Central account. If you don’t set up an Author Central account, this link goes to a page that lists your books mixed with other authors’ books. This means you could lose a sale to another author whose book outshines yours, and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen.

Readers do want to know who you are, including your background, accomplishments, credentials, and that you are a real human. These days, not only do we compete with human authors, we compete against AI more and more. Readers are becoming even more invested in knowing the identity of an author. If they like you, they believe they will like your stories.

3. Google Search Results

Simply stated, Google indexes author page on Amazon. When someone googles your author name, you want all the top search results to be flooded with your website, social media links, and such. More so, direct links to buy your books are better at the top. Since you’ll sell more books on Amazon, it’s best that your Author Central account link be as close to the top as possible after a Google Search. Go google your author name now. Discover where it ranks. Any way that you can increase visibility of your books is a good thing!

4. Book Information Control

There are a number of book information updates you can apply to your books from Author Central: add editorial reviews, update your book descriptions, add author comments to a book page, and more. Editorial reviews are positive testimonials about your book that catch a reader's attention and tell them your book is worth reading. Actively updating your author comments tells both readers and Amazon you are invested in selling books. This option is especially helpful if you have a publisher and a lack of control of your books via KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

5. Marketing Materials

Again, if you are traditionally published and do not have access to KDP, the marketing materials that Amazon provides in Author Central are extremely helpful to view your book rankings and manage your marketing needs. In the Sales Ranking report, you’ll find your rankings in the various Amazon marketplaces around the world. There is also a BookScan report available for free on Author Central, which expands a picture of your rankings across other bookstores. Author central also provides easier access to your review, so you can use them in your marketing materials on social media or print.

Finally, Amazon Advertising is accessible from Author Central. This is especially handy for traditionally published authors. If you haven’t already realized this, you won’t sell books unless you advertise on Amazon. Having control over your advertising is important because you also have control over advertising budgets. 

Part of being an author is getting your name and face and books out there for all to see. And your Amazon Author Central page is an invaluable tool every author needs to further your exposure. It’s easy to set up and maintain, so make an effort to visit your page and update it frequently.

Back to School Reading for Kids with These Awesome Picture Books

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Sadly, summer reading is over. Thankfully, it's never time to stop reading!

Now it's back to school, and before you know it, it'll be time to snuggle up under a blanket by the fire with a little one and a good picture book. Here are two books that we recently published that the kids are sure to enjoy.

Fall Night Fun includes Farmyard animals racing to find the perfect pumpkin to carve before dawn!

Apollo, the horse, and Jerry, the squirrel are best friends who live on a farm. Because Jerry is an Eastern Grey Squirrel, he never gets to see the night time stars. But on one fateful fall night, Apollo takes Jerry, along with friends, on a nighttime adventure to find pumpkins that they can carve their names into. Will Jerry be able to see the stars and find the perfect pumpkin before the sunrise?

Fall Night Fun is a perfect Halloween read. The colorful illustrations by Lauren Curtis puts everyone in a fall mood, and the characters are fun and lively. Join the adventure and find out if the animals are successful with their quest.

Get Fall Night Fun in paperback or eBook on Amazon.

Read an interview with author Marin Resnick in our blog.

In The Mutant Monsters of Marsden Mountain: Genesis a nasty chemical spill overtakes a town and turns animals & objects into FUN monsters!

Reading in a Classroom

When the people of the town returned home after a chemical spill, they're greeted by mutated monsters eager to share their newly authentic selves. But the humans force them to relocate to a small hidden mountain town. There, these spunky creatures build a thriving community where they celebrate their differences. The mutant monsters learn valuable life lessons too: acceptance, fellowship, kindness & more.

This quirky & poetic series is for all kinds of kids...big & small. Watch as the monsters’ friendships blossom & creativity sprouts. What will happen as they learn about life & embrace adventure? Read The Mutant Monsters of Marsden Mountain: Genesis and you’ll find out!

Get The Mutant Monsters of Marsden Mountain: Genesis in paperback or eBook on Amazon.

Read an interview with author Miranda Tanner in our blog.

These books are perfect for home and school. They teach about friendship and cooperation and tolerance and more, all great lessons for kids. Your children will want your to read them to you over and over again.

Manuscripts Are A Dirty Business: Remove The Extra Sections, Breaks, and Spaces Before Submitting or Formatting Your Book

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Let's face facts. It's hard enough to write a book, let alone keep the manuscript file clean. Eventually you find yourself with an edited book that you want to submit to agents or self-publish, but there's all kinds of extra line breaks, spaces, tabs and other inconsistencies that make your manuscript look like a giant mess. Sure, you can turn it over to a book formatter, but the up front work to clean up the chaos can be expensive. Besides, knowing these tricks can make it easier to write your book in the first place.

I've been formatting books for publication for over 30 years. It all started for me way back in my Air Force and corporate days. Boy, does the U.S. military love their documentation. Anyway, how we use word processors hasn't really changed much. Bottom line, you gotta keep it clean from the beginning, but if you don't, there are a few quick and easy search and replace operations you can do to clean up your manuscript without paying someone an arm and a leg to do it for you. And it will save you a little embarrassment with agents.

Show Formatting Symbols

Breaks and Blank content in a manuscript is not always obvious to the eye. That's why we'll start by expose the paragraph and other symbols for hidden content. Exposing these symbols makes it easier to spot the issues and clean up the content, as we will do in the next sections.

1. Open your manuscript in MS Word.

2. Go to the Home tab, then the Paragraph section, and click on the Show/Hide Paragraph icon that is underlined in red in the image below.

3. Take a look at your manuscript and you'll see all the formatting symbols, a few shown in the example below. Notice the paragraph symbols at the end of most paragraphs. Notice other markers including a hard break after the chapter number, unnecessary spaces after the chapter title, and an inserted page break. None are necessary when it's time to format a paperback or eBook, and they can cause issues with the way text displays in a formatted book. Now let's clean it up with simple find and replace operations.

Remove Manual Breaks

In this section you will remove manual breaks for pages, sections, and lines. Most of these are unnecessary and can be better set up with styles in a simple manuscript, although we won't discuss styles in this post. For example, a manual page break near the end of a page could force a blank page to insert into the manuscript when it's printed.

1. Open Find and Replace with CTRL+H or locate the Editing section on the Home tab and hit the down arrow on the Find options on the upper-right side, then choose the Advanced Find… option.

2. In the Find and Replace dialog, go to the Replace tab.

3. Place the cursor in the Find what field, then click on the More >> button.

4. Go to the Search Option section and change the Search field to All.

5. Choose Special then Manual Page Break. The characters ^m appear in the Find what field.

NOTE: You can type the command ^m into the 'Find what' field instead of using the menus. This works for any of the finds in the following steps.

6. Click on Replace All. If you don't feel comfortable with Replace All, use the Replace button.

IMPORTANT: When you remove some breaks, extra lines could be added to the manuscript. Don’t remove them now. You will remove them later.

7. Do the same find and replace for Section Breaks, which are also under the Special menu or removable using ^b.

8. Do the same find and replace for Manual Line Breaks, also under the Special menu or removable using ^l (lower-case L).

IMPORTANT: Be VERY careful with manual line breaks, which are identified by the crooked line with the arrow after 'Chapter 1' in the example above. If you remove them between two separate paragraphs, you will end up with one paragraph where you need two. So, you might search for manual line breaks before removing them. Consider that a book formatter could miss this type of break, so this is something you should look for to maintain the integrity of your manuscript before handing it over anyway.

Remove Empty Lines

In this section you’ll remove empty lines between written paragraphs, titles, and other content. It’s a good idea to page through the manuscript first to see how many empty lines there are throughout. If there are a lot, you may want to manually clean up those sections or start the search with more paragraph special characters as you’ll see in step 1.

1. Go to the Find and Replace window and in the Find what field, enter ^p^p. Or start with more ^p symbols if the manuscript has a lot of blank space.

NOTE: ^p represents 1 paragraph. A search with ^p^p only looks for 1 empty line.

2. In the Replace with section, enter ^p.

3. Click on Replace All.

4. Make sure all the empty paragraphs have been removed. Run the find/replace again if needed.

Remove Tabs

Tabs can cause issues with inconsistent layout in a manuscript. They should never be used for paragraph indents or other formatting in a manuscript, instead setting this type of formatting up in a paragraph style, which is a checklist for another day.

1. In the Find what field, enter ^t.

NOTE: ^t represents a tab. This search looks for 1 tab. Like with empty paragraphs, if tabs are used excessively, you may need to search for multiple tabs.

2. In the Replace with section, empty the field.

3. Click on Replace All.

4. Make sure all the tabs have been removed. Run the find/replace again if needed.

Remove Double Spaces

It's no longer necessary to place 2 spaces after end-of-sentence punctuation. In fact, this went out of style a long time ago thanks to all the fonts we now have in Word Processors vs. typewriters. Still, some of us oldies can't completely kick the habit of adding 2 spaces. That's why it's a good idea to look for and change double-spaces to single-spaces using the steps below.

1. In Find what add ^w^w or 2 spaces and in Replace with add ^w or 1 space.

NOTE: While ^w represents a space between words, find/replace also recognized the use of the space bar to enter a normal space.

2. Click on the Replace All button.

Remove Extra Space at the End of Paragraphs

Extra space at the end of a paragraph can happen accidentally, or it’s a bad habit while typing. I know I do it and can't seem to break the habit. This must be cleaned from the manuscript to ensure neat formatting too.

1. In the Find what field, enter ^w^p.

NOTE: ^w represents 1 white space. Used with the ^p it searches for any number of spaces after the punctuation at the end of a paragraph and removes them.

2. In the Replace with section, enter ^p.

3. Click on Replace All.

Remove Unneeded Non-Breaking Spaces

Non-breaking spaces show up in the strangest places whether you realize you put them there or not. They are annoying and I've seen manuscripts riddled with them. It happens frequently when opening a manuscript written in different word processor in MS Word. Below is an example of what they look like, underlined in red and shown as an upper 'o'.

How are non-breaking spaces meant to be used, you ask? They do exactly what the name implies, keep two words together to stop a line break from forming between them. So, 'into the' and 'pancakes rises' could cause a line break issue when narrowing or expanding a page width. This could create major jagged and inconsistent line length, and no reader wants to see that. The general practice is to only use non-breaking spaces when absolutely necessary, such as the text '2 inches' needing to stay together if it lands at the end of a line and is split up. Take a look at the text 'my senses' in the example above to see how they are forced onto the next line. If I remove the non-breaking space between the words, 'my' will move back up a line. Wikipedia explains non-breaking spaces if you need more info.

Non-breaking spaces are as easy to remove as all the other formatting we've removed so far.

1. Place the cursor in the Find what field.

2. Choose Special then Nonbreaking Space, or enter ^s in the Find what field.

2. In the Replace with section, enter ^w to replace with a regular space.

3. Click on Replace All.

Conclusion

While there might be other issues in your manuscript, it is now very clean. You can fix other issues as you find them, especially since there are tons of other special characters to search for in the Find and Replace dialog. If you come across something you don't know how to fix, go to Services > Ask a Book Formatting Question in the menu and let me know how I can help.

Interview With Marin Resnick, Author Of Fall Night Fun

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We are excited to announce we've been working with a new children's book author. ArmLin House Productions will be publishing Marin Resnick's second children's book, her first titled Scary the Scared Iguana. Her new book, Fall Night Fun, is about Apollo the horse and Jerry the squirrel, best friends that live on a farm and venture out to find pumpkins during a crescent moon and the Halloween harvest.

Marin is a mom, writer, and coffee lover who splits her time between Hunterdon County, New Jersey, where there are more horses than people, and Ocala, Florida, the Horse Capital of the World. When Marin isn’t driving her daughter up and down Route 95 to horse shows, she enjoys trail walking and spending time with her dogs ( Onyx, Tommy, Violet, and Molly) and God.

When asked, "How would you describe yourself/life in seven words?" she answered, "My daughter says I am Sofia Petrillo." I had to chuckle, more so because Sofia is one of my all time favorite television characters.

Here are a few other interesting things about Marin, who I am so looking forward to working with on future projects along with Lauren Curtis who illustrated Fall Night Fun.

Q: What are your passions in regards to giving back to the community and/or world?

A: So many. After living in Florida, I realize that there are many homeless veterans, and they are not always able to care for themselves. I think it’s really important to take care of them, and each other. In Florida, there seems to be an understanding that when someone needs help, you just take care of them. That goes for helping if someone has lost a dog, or if a veteran is hungry, you feed them, to holding open doors. There’s a saying in Judaism that everyone needs to do a mitzvah a day, and the world will be better. That has become apparent with my time in Florida.

Q: Who are your writing influences?  What authors helped you find your own writing style?

A: Sue Shapiro is one of my major influences. The author of the book The Jap Chronicles, Isabel Rose, is another because of the structure of her books. My favorite Sue Shapiro quote is about when you write a book that upsets everyone, that’s when you’ve found your voice. That is some solid advise.

Q: How long does it take you to write a book?

A: Depends. A children’s book I can write quite quickly because it’s about the same length as an article for the newspaper. The Ocala Experience, which will be the first nonficiton adult book I’m taking on, could take a bit longer.

Q:Tell us a bit about your main character(s)?

A: The main character is Apollo, and he is my daughter’s real horse. She asked me to write a book about him. The other is Jerry, named after my late father, who loved the horses and loved to watch me ride, so it was only suitable that Apollo’s bestie be named Jerry.

Q:Tell us a little bit about the next book you’re writing.

A: The Ocala Experience is all about my most recent trip to Ocala, and how I thought it was going to be just this change of residence for the season. But it actually wound up being a journey through my past, so I can get to the future. A lot of childhood wounds healed and a lot of other stuff happened. And I’m hoping this experience will help others.

Look for more from Marin here on our website soon. Fall Night Fun will be in stores late June or early July, so make room for it on your kids summer reading list.

The Remaking of a Fiction Series and Why You Should Consider Remaking Your Series

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I write a fiction series, currently titled The Courier under the pen name Winnie Jean Howard, but I'm changing the series name to Angels Dark and Dumb.

Why, you ask? Because the series title doesn't speak to the actual series' genre/sub-genres. Yes, the main character is a courier, and he continues to transport otherworldly things and beings in the series, but The Courier doesn't speak to the fantasy, paranormal, and comedy side of the series. Taking apart the new series name, "angels" reflects the expected characters, "dark" reflects the horror/paranormal category, and "dumb" lets a reader know it's funny or fascicle.

This isn't my first remaking of the series. I originally published under the name W. J. Howard because I started writing horror many years ago, when women were not taken seriously as horror writers. Thirty years later--giving away my age and how long I've been struggling to be a fiction writer--expectations have changed.

Remaking myself and the series has been time consuming because many of the changes I have made require publishing a whole new edition. A whole new edition entails full unpublication of existing books, followed by assigning new ISBNs, publishing from start to finish again, and linking to old editions. Approach this level of changing your book or series with caution because it is very time consuming. You will get to know Amazon support intimately.

The first in the series, Call for Obstruction, is on it's 5th edition. It was first released with a publisher back in 2008. Unfortunately, that didn't last due to the publisher going out of business. Horror story for another day. Then I started a publishing cooperative and that lasted a few years before the whole thing became a distraction from my own work and way too much work in general. That's when I decided to change to a self-published author and published version 3. The next version happened when I changed my fiction author pen name to Winnie Jean Howard. In hindsight, those two versions should have been done at the same time. Coulda, shoulda, woulda gets you every time! And here we are on version 5 with the whole series name change. Since I can't think of another reason why I might need to remake the book or series again, I'm hoping to call it DONE!

These changes are not uncommon, especially when you start marketing a novel, which is the main reason for my new series name. Reinventions of books usually come in the form of rewriting cover copy or changing a book cover. In my case, add author self-discovery and a need to further clarify to potential readers what they can expect when they open Call for Obstruction or Fall for Freedom or Warrant for Damnation. The later is the most frustrating experience I've had due to my love of "bad taste" humor. More on this later.

If you are an author, and you've feeling something is not right with your series because it's not selling, or the wrong readers are picking up your book and it's reflected in your reviews, consider making over your titles too. Here are a few questions you should think over, then pick and choose things that could help your book series.

Does your author name represent you and your books? Only do this if you are early in your career as a writer. Imagine if Pepsi changed it's brand name tomorrow. I know I'd go nuts. In my case, I wanted readers to know I'm a woman. I'd been out there in the horror community for many years, and there were an equal number of male and female writers and artists who loved and represented the genre equally. Women are no longer worried about the stereotypes of the past regarding the horror genre. But I also had to remake my name to something a bit goofy to let readers know my stories were not only horrific but also funny and nonsensical. To me, Winnie Jean sounds as such, although I also considered Mean Winnie Jean. So, take a good look at what you write, who you are, and see if you're best represented by your author name choice. Are you fun or stuffy? Mysterious or romantic? Also know that this is one of those big changes and you'll need a new edition.

Do your book titles speak to what you write? This is the big one I'm addressing now. I feel like I went with too literal a series title to begin with and forgot about the marketing. Did you do the same? While we spend years learning to write, how to market is in the back of our mind during the process. Why else would so many writers think that when the book is published, the readers will ooze out of the woodwork? Even I should have known better because I worked in marketing before and after publishing my first novel. So, think about your own titles. Could they be confusing or maybe even off-putting to the reader you are hoping to attract? This is another "big change" that will require a new edition, so be sure a new title will attract the right readers.

Did you publish your book(s) too soon? As someone who has led writers' critique groups for many years, I've seen writers publish too soon or without professional editing. Crazy as it sounds, I've even seen writers who think poor grammar is their style of creative writing. Excuse after excuse just to publish ASAP, like it's a drug. This is a path that leads to crickets on your book page. Give readers credit for spotting a hack. Also likely, when an author isn't willing to perfect the story, why would he bother with marketing. But if he did market, he's likely see angry reviews. If your ego is ready to admit you did this, re-write and re-publish...then see the other advice. Note that you should publish a new edition if you make major changes to a book, like any scientific manual or textbook publisher would do. It's worth it if you have published multiple books in a series because no one will advance from your first book to the next, if they even finish the first.

Are your story lines outdated? I'm old, so I really worry about this one while writing Angels Dark and Dumb because I want readers in their 20s to enjoy the books. Why would you write a story about the invention of television as if it happened today. Kids have different issues than I did when I was a kid and there was no Internet. If you hate how society has changed since you were young, consider retiring your manual typewriter for a room at a nursing home (do they still call it that?), where you can complain to like-minded whiners. Otherwise, see where your books need a little updating. I believe writers should be a bit compassionate and open minded to write both sides of any story anyway. If you opt for this option, minor changes don't require a new edition.

When did you last change your book cover, if ever? Yes, I am GUILTY! But I'm polishing them up with the series name change. Unless you are a bestseller, expect to do this periodically. And it should go without saying that you should hire a professional to do your covers. Don't let your ego rule this decision! SERIOUSLY!! Just because there are tools you can use to make a book cover doesn't mean you should do it. I've known too many authors with the "I'm creative. I can do it" attitude who are terrible artists only a mother would love. There are even spectacular pre-made book covers that are less expensive. Consider it! You can change your book cover as many times as you like without having to publish a new edition.

How old is your cover copy and does it best reflect the books and series? My biggest frustration with cover copy has been getting it right to attract the right audience. Like when I changed my pen name, I've learned the hard way that brutal honesty is the best policy. This is because I write trashy comedy that is an acquired taste. These days, there are a lot of people who are easily offended, but I've reached a point where I don't care about offending anyone. Problem is...they are waiting for opportunities to trash books they don't feel are appropriate. Read through your cover copy and assess whether or not it's deceiving. Are you trying to sell books to anyone and everyone? Or are you trying to sell to readers who will love your story? Sell to your audience ONLY! There's lots of advice out there on writing cover copy. So my advice is to seek it out and rewrite your books' descriptions frequently and until you start selling to the right audience.

Remaking your books may seem overwhelming, but it is essential...and I've found it's worth it. Why else would I be on edition 5 of my first book. It's a tough and competitive market we authors work in. You won't always get it right the first time, so keep trying, and trying, and trying, and trying.