Please also visit . . .

On April 27th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Writing

Also,  perhaps you’ll find some of my other sites interesting:

  • Harmony123.com, a science-fiction fantasy novel – currently a work in progress.
  • The Monster on Top of the Bed - a book (and read-along CD or .mp3 files) for children that banishes bedtime fears.
  • How Everyone Can Get Great Job Interviews - An e-book that is designed from the ground up to let you copy-and-paste your way to getting job interviews.  In no time at all you’ll pinpoint your true value to potential employers.
  • FastPencil – The tool that I am using to independently publish books.  (This is an affiliate link.  You can also type in FastPencil.com to your web browser.  If you use my affiliate link, I may make a few bucks, but it costs  you no more.)

FastPencil Used to Publish The Monster on Top of the Bed

On July 28th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

If you’ve followed my experiences with FastPencil over the last year, you’ll know that I have always been hopeful that this would be a good publishing platform, but that I was also cyncial.  I’m delighted to announce that I’ve just finished publishing my first book with FastPencil, and it was an excellent experience.

At every stage along the way, there was zero pressure to buy anything.  In fact, I was able to publish the book, and make it available for sale without buying any of their packages.  I bought three copies of a full-color 36-page children’s book, including shipping, for $31.23, and I have reason to believe that that cost can go way down if this book is purchased in quantity.

The fact of the matter is that I don’t want to purchase it in quantity at this time.  I want to use these copies as a final proof, and I may submit them to sources as a galley copy for advance reviews and publicity.  I’ll probably buy another dozen in this way.

You can see the book sales page here:  http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/582-The-Monster-on-Top-of-the-Bed.

I’m a little rushed now, but I’ll return to explain this process in more detail.  By the way, if you’re motivated to use FastPencil, please use this affiliate link.  It won’t cost you any more money, and I will make a few dollars should you purchase from them.  (I expect that this may take up to a year, if you’re as cautious as me.)   http://www.fastpencil.com/?ref=lbcreative-fp

Free Press Release Services

On June 20th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Promotion, Marketing

If you want to get the word out, but you’re on a budget and can not afford a service like Vocus, consider using one of these free press release services:

http://www.prlog.org/

http://www.pitchengine.com

“Wordpress is a CMS” by Colin Loretz Presented at WordCamp Reno 2010

On June 12th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

These are notes taken on the fly.  They have not been edited yet.

CNN and NY Times run their blogs on WordPress.

http://www.ColinLoretz.com @colinloretz

  • PageMash is useful for page management prior to 3.0
  • BuddyPress is for social
  • WPListPages is good for hierarchical page ordering prior to 3.0
  • The creative is important.   If you can design it Photoshop, you can make it work in WordPress
  • Scalability – Highly scalable
    • Store information in a content delivery network such as Amazon

    Using child pages is an important concept.

  • Custom queries
  • Security
    • Run a server that is secure
    • Use secret keys – see the Codex for information
    • Don’t use Admin or wp_
    • Move your wp_config file.  Move it so that they can’t find passwords.
  • WordPress 3.0
    • Menu Management – go to menu area and change your menu and it will go across the site
    • Custom post types – You can add as a developer so that you could have “New Property” Instead of “New Posts”
    • Custom Taxonmies – Allows you to track people and photos and
    • Multi-site – Formerly WordPress MU, now can have parent and child sites
  • Examples
  • WP List Pages – display the pages you want, hide the wants you want, etc.
  • Custom Templates can be created for:
    • Category
    • Page
    • Single post

    Functions.php is how you can add a functionality and move it with themes

Great Tool for Salespeople and Job Seekers

On June 6th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Jobs, Marketing

http://www.wikiseer.com is a useful tool for browsing websites.  You hover over a link and it summarizes the content.  It’s results are between skimming the titles and reading the entire article.  The company is in the experimental stage, and wants feedback on their product.

I think it’s a great tool for salespeople and job seekers.  Try it out.

An excerpt from Wikiseer which is sort of a cliff notes of blog posts

An excerpt from Wikiseer which is sort of a cliff notes of blog posts

List of Public Libraries

On May 29th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Promotion

Link to a List of Public Libraries – Public, state, Presidential, national, college and law libraries are listed.

This list is valuable for readers, and for authors who need to promote their books.

Teacher Resources – Elementary Lesson Plans – .edu and .gov sites

On May 29th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Promotion, Web Techniques & Tips

I have written a children’s book that is accompanied by both .mp3 files and a CD.  It’s multi-cultural, featuring English, Italian and Spanish.  It was illustrated by Manuela Pentangelo in Italy, and the illustrations are “Italian ice-cream parlor delicious.”

The Monster on Top of the Bed has many valuable resources for use in the classroom. I’m just starting to pinpoint some of these on a blog:

http://max-opp.com/monbedblog/category/teachers

Perhaps some of your readers would be interested in visiting the blog, or in preparing lesson plans for the book.

Also check out http://www.max-opp.com. Resources for teachers will also appear there.

Call me if you have questions. 775.453.6636.

Writing the Novel for Young Readers – An Interview with Richard Peck

On May 29th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Writing

I’m a member of the Society of Children’s Bookwriters and Illustrators. The other day I came across this video which is a master class by Richard Peck, fellow SCBWI member. I was impressed. Perhaps you’ll find it valuable too.

Richard Peck has been a preeminent and prolific voice in literature for young readers. He has twice been honored as a National Book Award finalist, and garnered both a Newbery Honor (A Long Way From Chicago) and a Newbery Medal (A Year Down Yonder). Now, SCBWI Master Class takes you inside the craft and creative process of a writer whose beloved and award-winning novels have inspired generations of readers and writers alike.

Hosted by SCBWI Executive Director and best-selling childrens book author Lin Oliver, each SCBWI Master Class offers a one-of-a-kind conversation with the most important writers and illustrators working in childrens literature today. Filled with practical information and inspiring insight, SCBWI Master Class is an essential tool for every author or illustrator whether aspiring or professional.

Reviews of The Monster on Top of the Bed

On May 24th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Reviews

The Monster on Top of the Bed The Monster on Top of the Bed by Alan H. Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wrote this book, so I’ll post some of the reviews that others have written:

Princess Sleeping Beauty book review of The Monster on Top of the Bed

“Like Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc., children. . . [who read:] this book . . . [like:] the fact that a monster, as might be afraid . . . of them, but it does so in a very different, almost cerebral way. Also, as children read the story, it [has:] a mantra that they can say . . . to banish monsters, “You’re welcome to stay until I say ‘yes’, then it is time to go, and then can not say no. “Children who love the magic spell, and the mantra to ensure a good Comfort[able night's sleep:].” Order in the format you prefer: Book/CD/iPod/Book and CD.

“Last weekend, I had occasion to drive home four rowdy children, ages 5 to 10. One of them found the CD to The Monster on Top of the Bed and asked me to play it. Another one found the book and turned the pages for the others. For the next 15 minutes, I had four rapt children in my car as the CD played twice. Any story that captures the attention of these four kids is definitely very good.” – Sharon Wood, parent.

“I like the fact that Karrit’s smaller than Suzy, and I love the monster’s eyes. You can’t tell if the monster is Asian, Eurasian, or American, and I like the ponytail. Every boy and every girl can identify with Karrit.”

- Belinda Chua, S. F. Bay Area

Donna McDine

The Monster on Top of the Bed . . . is sure to become a new bedtime classic. All the components are perfectly intertwined to make the story jump off its pages and come to life. And in fact it does, in several different versions that are available . . .” – Donna M. McDine – Donna has been published in Stories for Children Magazine, and Newsletter for Writers, Kid Magazine Writers, Long Story Short, Institute of Children’s Literature Rx for Writers, Once Upon A Time Magazine. She contributes articles for the SCBWI Metro NY Newsletter, Cross & Quill, The Christian Writers Newsletter, and Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine.

Parenting Times Mums Gather Blog review of the Monster on Top of the Bed
“. . . These are things that they relate to and when they read a book it helps them to understand the situation better and feel that they are not alone.

For example to overcome my girl’s Nighttime Fears, we read a delightful online book called The Monster on Top of the Bed from Lets Be Creative.org. The ebook is also available on CD and hardcopy, you’ll have to visit the site for more details. . . The book tells the tale of a monster who lives under the bed who believes that the girl sleeping on the bed is a Monster on Top of the Bed. My girl was really amused to think that the monster would think of the little girl in the book as a monster. . . . ” Parenting Times

Mom is Teaching review of the Monster on Top of the Bed. . So, instead of asking every 5 minutes if it was time to go, I set them up with a copy of the book and the CD. I let the CD do the reading and Walker held the book so that he and Jace could both see. We didn’t hear from them again until it was time to get ready to go to the game. . . . Believe it or not, Walker has listened to the CD with the book several times and I’ve heard him trying really hard to read the book to his brother without the CD already. Can’t get much better than that! – Mom is Teaching blog.

Tree, Root & Twig Review of the Monster on Top of the Bed. . . The Monster on Top of the Bed is a sweet story about a young girl who has traded places – in a sense – with the monster underneath her bed. It turns out that she has been frightening him, and once the two finally communicate with and listen to each other, the misunderstanding is resolved. It’s a lovely story about overcoming fears and misconceptions to become friends . . . The book was sent to me as part of a CD set – in fact, the “book” itself is actually a full-color book inserted into the CD case. I thought this was very clever, as the packaging comes completely self-contained, and the size of the book is perfect for little hands. The illustrations are wonderful, and I particularly love the adorable gap between Suzy’s teeth. – Tree Root & Twig blog.
Read the book Review by Brenda Silver in eZineArticles.comThe author has created a captivating story. Manuela Pentangelo, the illustrator, has crafted ice-cream-parlor-delicious artwork. On the accompanying audio-book CD (available separately) the book is performed in English (2 versions), Italian and Spanish (2 versions.) As children listen to the different performances, they cannot help but develop an appreciation for the beauty of different languages. Just by listening, they pick up many Italian and Spanish words, and start to develop an appreciation of different cultures.Like the Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc., this book allows children to discover the fact that a monster might be as afraid of them, but it does it in a very different, almost cerebral way. Also, as children read the story, they find a mantra that they can say to themselves to banish monsters, “You’re welcome to stay, until I say ‘nay,’ then it’s time to go, and you can’t say no.” Children love to have magic enchantments, and this mantra can provide great comfort. – Brenda Silver – Book Reviewer eZineArticles.com

View all my reviews >>

Review of Water for Elephants

On May 24th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Reviews

Water for Elephants Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Characters. This book is all about character. It’s a great study of one person’s life, and I learned quite a bit about the circus in the process.

It left me with the feeling that people are remembered. Some might find that the different points of view of the same character confusing. I enjoyed the different POV.

View all my reviews >>

Review of Eldest

On May 24th, 2010 by Alan | No Comments | Posted in Book Reviews

Eldest (Inheritance, #2) Eldest by Christopher Paolini


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I found Eldest to be a typical sequel. It, perhaps, had a bit too much violence for my taste. It was a good read, but was too long, and I feel it didn’t add anything new to the concept of Eragon.

View all my reviews >>