Posts

Finally Seeing Our Print Books on Indigo's website

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“Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light onto the sidewalk. They civilize their neighborhoods.”  — John Updike So exiting that we can share that our books are finally starting to appear on Indigo’s website. After a long stretch of backend setup and waiting, seeing those listings populate feels like a real turning point. We chose IngramSpark intentionally for long term distribution and library access. We will link back to our earlier post explaining that decision in more detail, but the short version is that we wanted a system that supported bookstores, libraries, and print on demand rather than locking us into a single retailer. Our Ebooks Were Already There One interesting contrast is that our ebooks have actually been available on the Indigo site for some time. Because we distribute ebooks through Draft2Digital , they are automatically sent to Kobo , which powers Indigo’s ebook catalogue. That part of the system worked exactly as expected. Once the ebooks were live through Dr...

Finding Our Books on Goodreads

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“Books are the treasured wealth of the world.” Henry David Thoreau What is Goodreads? Goodreads is a place many readers use to keep track of the books they love. It works a little like a set of digital bookshelves. You add books you want to read so you can grab them later, keep a list of what you have finished, or build themed shelves for the stories that matter to you most. What else is Goodreads used for? Community Connections Goodreads also has many community features that readers enjoy.  There are curated lists built by users, seasonal reading challenges, and voting for favourite books in different genres every year. These additional features help readers discover new stories and connect with others who love the same kinds of books. It gives every book a chance to find its way to the right reader, whether it is a new release or a quiet favourite. Goodreads site How does Goodreads help Indie Authors? One of the most exciting parts of being an indie author is seeing our books app...

Libraries Help Indie Authors and Their Communities

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“The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library,” Albert Einstein Libraries Help Authors and the Community Libraries support readers in more ways than most people realize. When someone asks their library to carry a book, it does not just help the author by buying their book. It also gives families in that community access to stories and information they might not be able to afford or even know about yet. Libraries have eBooks, Audiobooks and Print All formats of books can be found in the library. Some readers love holding a book in their hands. Others prefer borrowing titles through their library’s digital collection. Every format request tells the library that this book has value for the people it serves, and libraries respond to those signals when deciding what to order. Having so many different formats available without cost to borrow helps your books find new readers in ways that traditional advertising wouldn't ever reach. Libraries Spotlight Local A...

The Eh, Canada? Series Begins with Clever Creations and Weird Laws

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“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about?”  — L. M. Montgomery Clever Creations is now live and officially part of the Eh, Canada? series , along with Weird Laws .  These books are designed to be light, funny, and very easy to read. Each title is divided into short themed sections, and every section begins with a single illustration that sets the tone for the facts that follow. The illustrations work as small visual markers rather than page-by-page artwork, which keeps the layout simple and the focus on the content. All of the books in this series use a large print format. That has been perfect for quick browsing, reading with kids, sharing with grandparents, or leaving out on a coffee table. They are physically small (4 x 6), easy to tuck into a stocking or for a teacher gift, and easy to carry. Exactly the kind of little trivia books I wanted to make. Amazon Limiting Quantities of Books In the past week or two a few readers messaged me abo...

Shelved Joins the Indie Ontario Collection!

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Lauren and I are both thrilled to share that Shelved has officially been added to the Indie Ontario collection and the Indie Canada collection and is now available to readers through BiblioBoard!  For those who haven’t used it before, BiblioBoard is a digital library platform that lets anyone in Ontario read local books online, no library card required. Indie Ontario is part of the Indie Author Project, which highlights independently published books by American and Canadian authors and makes them available through libraries. Seeing Shelved included alongside other Ontario indie titles feels like such a meaningful milestone. This little book about finding your place on the shelf has, quite literally, found its shelf. If you’d like to take a look, you can read Shelved free right here: πŸ‘‰ Read Shelved on BiblioBoard And if you prefer print, you can always find more details and retailer links on the main book page:  littlegoodbyes.ca/books/shelved Have a book that you think would...

What Print-on-Demand Means (and Why We Use It)

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  If you have ever ordered one of our books and noticed it takes a few extra days to ship, there is a good reason. Every Little Goodbyes Press book is printed only when someone orders it . This is called Print-on-Demand , or POD, just like it was all those years ago when books were first being printed one page at a time and hand-stitched together.  What Print-on-Demand Actually Is Instead of keeping stacks of books in warehouses, a POD printer creates each copy as it is ordered. The pages are printed, bound, and shipped directly to the retailer or reader only on demand. It is the same high-quality printing you would expect from a traditional run, just made to order. That is why your copy of Bye-Bye, Boobies, Weird Laws, Shelved or The Fox and the Crow might take a little longer to arrive compared to a traditional publishing company that prints hundreds of copies of books at a time. So it takes a little longer, but it is being freshly printed for you.  How Our Books ...

The Fox and The Crow

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  Buy The Fox and The Crow on Amazon.com The Fox and the Crow has been one of my favourite stories to bring to life and we had fun making some of the parts of the images from oven-baked clay at home, including the logo! See our post  Introducing the Monarch Tales to see that process. Of course, I'm also using Krita to help make the illustrations for these books just as I did for my Bye-Bye, Boobies book and I shared in this post .  We all know the tale, the fox wants the cheese but how can you get it from the crow high up in the maple tree? Inspired by Aesop’s classic fable, it’s my Canadian retelling and part of the  Monarch Tales collection. The hardcover edition has been out a couple of weeks and has been joined by a new more affordable softcover version, perfect for families and classrooms. Teachers and homeschool parents can also find a free Educational Guide for this title, filled with discussion prompts, a seek-and-find activity.. It’s been wonderful to ...