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Writer’s Research – Police Investigating Cell Tower Information

WRITERS SHARING RESEARCH:

writers-resources-1In my last police procedural fiction book, I did some research on cell phones and the terminology used by police officers.  I thought I would share it with other writers to save you the research time.

Cops and detectives use cell phone triangulation records in most cases now.  So here is some basic information with many of the terms used.  I hope this helps some other authors.

WHAT ARE CELL TOWERS:

Project-Research-cell-phone-towersCell towers, also known as cell phone towers or cellular towers, are tall structures that transmit and receive radio signals. These towers facilitate wireless communication between mobile devices and the network. Mobile phones connect to the nearest cell tower to send and receive voice, text messages, and data.

SUPPORT THE MEN & WOMEN IN BLUE

WHAT IS CELL TOWER PINGING? 

Cell tower pinging is the process of using a cell phone's signal to determine its location. This can be done by sending a signal to the phone and having it respond with its location data.

How does cell tower pinging work? Cell phones communicate with cell towers by sending and receiving radio signals. The cell tower that a phone is connected to can be determined by the strength of the signal between the phone and the tower. By triangulating the signals from multiple towers, the phone's approximate location can be determined.



HOW DO COPS USE CELL TOWER INFORMATION?

cell-phone-recordsWhen cops are researching where cell phones are pinging from, they typically use a process called cell site location information (CSLI). CSLI is data that records the location of a cell phone by tracking its connection to cell towers.

Is It Legal?  In the United States, cell tower pinging is legal if it is done with a warrant or with the consent of the phone's owner.

WHAT IS THE TERMINOLOGY:

  • Cell Towers - General term for cell towers
  • CSLI (Cell Site Location Information) is data that records the location of a cell phone by tracking its connection to the cell towers.
  • IMEI + a fifteen-digit number is how each cell phone is identified.  This number is assigned at the factory.
  • The cell towers don't have a specific name, they are known by their radio frequency.

WHAT IS THE METHOD:

cell-site-locationEach cell tower has a unique identifier, which is called the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI). The IMEI is a 15-digit number that is assigned to every cell phone when it is manufactured.

When a cell phone connects to a cell tower, it sends the tower its IMEI number. The tower then records this information in its logs.

Cops can obtain CSLI data from cell phone carriers with a court order. The data they receive from the phone companies will show which cell towers the phone has connected to and when. This information can be used to track the phone's movements over time.  So the cops don't know the individual cell tower information.  They get it with the phone information.

In addition to the IMEI number, cell towers are also identified by their location. This information is typically stored in a database called a cell site locator (CSG). The CSG is used by cell phone carriers to track the location of their towers.

The specific information that is included in CSLI records can vary depending on the cell phone carrier and the type of phone. However, most CSLI records will include the following information:

  • The date and time of the call or text message
  • The phone number of the caller or recipient
  • The cell tower that the phone was connected to at the time of the call or text message
  • The strength of the signal from the cell tower
  • In some cases, CSLI records may also include the latitude and longitude coordinates of the cell tower. However, this information is not always available.

If you are writing a book about a crime, it is important to be aware of the role that CSLI can play in an investigation. CSLI can be a valuable tool for law enforcement, but it is important to remember that it is not always accurate. The accuracy of CSLI can be affected by a number of factors, including the strength of the signal from the cell tower, the location of the cell tower, and the type of phone.



CELL TOWER INFOMATION DISCLAIMER:

However, it is important to note that CSLI data is not always accurate. The accuracy of the data can be affected by a number of factors, including the strength of the signal, the distance between the phone and the tower, and the terrain.

Overall, CSLI data is a valuable tool that can be used to track the location of cell phones. However, it is important to understand the limitations of the data before using it to make decisions.

WHAT IS THEIR AREA OF COVERAGE?

cell-phone-area-of-coverageThe coverage radius of a cell tower depends on a number of factors, including the technology used, the height of the tower, and the terrain.

In general, a cell tower can cover a radius of 1 to 3 miles for 4G LTE and 5G cell towers. However, in some cases, the coverage radius can be as much as 10 miles.

For example, a cell tower using 5G technology with a directional antenna can have a coverage radius of up to 10 miles. However, a cell tower using 4G LTE technology with an omnidirectional antenna may only have a coverage radius of 1 to 2 miles.

The terrain can also affect the coverage radius of a cell tower. Mountains and hills can block the signal, so cell towers need to be placed in areas with clear line of sight.

In general, cell towers need to be built every 5 to 10 miles to provide adequate coverage. However, the specific spacing of cell towers will vary depending on the factors discussed above.

Here are some other factors that can affect the overall radius of a cell tower:

  • The number of antennas on the tower: More antennas can provide better coverage.
  • The power of the transmitter: A stronger transmitter can provide better coverage.
  • The frequency of the signal: Lower frequencies can provide better coverage over longer distances.
  • The weather: Heavy rain or snow can block the signal.

HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH CELL TOWER IS USED?

many-cell-towersThis information is about how a cellphone customer can find out about their own cellphone towers.  This wouldn't be used by the police necessarily but it is information I came across during my own research.

There are several methods you can use to determine which cell tower your phone is connected to.  There are apps in the Play Store for this purpose.  As an author, you won't need to track anything and probably don't need any apps, but it's good to know that this exists when plotting.  These apps provide information about nearby cell towers, including the one your phone is connected to. ·  Check your phone's settings: Some smartphones display information about the connected cell tower in the settings menu. Look for "Network" or "About Phone" options to find this information.

Writers Tip – How to Do Advance Reader Copies

Is there anything worse than staring at an empty page and not knowing where to begin?  I don't think so.

When I was new, I liked the idea of offering an Advanced Reader Copy of my book.  It sounded so easy.  It is easy -- but, there is a lot of planning involved and you need the right verbiage to ask for a favor without putting your readers off 🙂

PLANNING IS THE KEY:

When I was new, I was so anxious to release my eBooks.  Now that I've been doing this for a few years, I realize that the planning behind a book is crucially important.  So my tip to newbies is to wait until you have the book back from the editor and the proofreaders.  Only then are you ready to release as an ARC Copy.

WHY THE DELAY?

The delay is for "reading time" and "pre-order time".  Both of these strategies will help you get reviews and drum up some buzz about your new book.  You don't want to miss out on posting about your book on social media with the following hashtags:  #comingsoon, #newrelease, #releasedate, #ARCreaders, #preorders, #freeebooks -- and more!

EIGHT WEEKS?

Explosion-8-weeksWhy eight weeks?  You need to gather readers for at least two to three weeks to send them the book.  They need at least two to three weeks to read the book.  That takes you to 6 weeks.  Now, if you are a beginner, I'm suggesting you plan your release eight weeks out.

If you will be using Bookfunnel or SiteOrigin to send out the book, you'll need time for people to find it as the authors all send around the newsletters about the promotion at a different time.

Now, if you have been writing and releasing books for awhile, you can probably get this all done within 6 weeks.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out how you want to do it.



UPLOAD YOUR BOOK TO AMAZON WITH A PRE-ORDER DATE.

Only set the eBook for pre-order.  I tried to set the paperback once, but that went live!  So only do the eBook.  Once you upload it, record your ASIN number.

Example-of-verbiage-bar

ADVANCE REVIEW COPY – VERBIAGE FOR AN INVITATION FOR ARC READERS:

Dear Readers:

I have finished BOOK TITLE.  This is Book 3 in BOOK SERIES NAME.

I'm sending this email to my newsletter subscribers to see if anyone is interested in getting a free copy of the book in exchange for agreeing to read the book before it is released.  The release date is RELEASE DATE.

Below is a description of the book to see if you would like to read it:

[Add in the description you plan to use at Amazon KDP.  Don’t let it be too long, maybe 4 medium paragraphs at the most]

ARC-ad-reading-cat

Above is an ad I used on Social Media and on my website when I was looking for ARC readers for Murder in the Car Wash.  I had over 25 people sign up.  For newbies, that's a lot.  Not for Steven King or Nora Roberts, but for new self-published authors?  It's a lot.

ADD CONTACT INFO:

In the ARC copy, I use a page called Note to Reader where I thank them for reading the book.  I add in a few words about liking to interact with my readers, and add my email in case any of them want to let me know what they thought about the book.

If anyone takes the time to email you and point out a typo or grammar mistake that got by the editor and proofreader, thank them.  I also add them to the Acknowledgement Page in the book!



THE RELEASE DATE HAS ARRIVED:

release-dateDuring the time you're waiting for your ARC readers to finish reading the book, find time to prepare your Paperback and Hardcover manuscripts.  This way, you can upload them on the day after your eBook release.

Why the day after?  I never trust things 100% -- a bit paranoid in today's world.  Maybe Amazon will have a website glitch, etc.  I want to make sure the book is released before I send the emails to my ARC readers or publish my Hardcovers or Paperbacks.

Example-of-verbiage-bar

WORDING FOR THE EMAIL INVITING READER TO DOWNLOAD AN ARC COPY:

Here is an example of wording to ask for a review:

Dear Advanced Copy Readers:

The day has finally arrived!  BOOK TITLE has launched on Amazon on RELEASE DATE.  I hope you all enjoyed the advanced copy of the book.  I would be so grateful if you would take the time to leave a review.  Here is a direct link: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0B3Y2WH9G.* (See below)

I'd like to take one final opportunity to thank you so much for participating in my launch team for this book.  A couple of you have gone the extra mile in sending an email pointing out a typo and grammatical error or two, which is invaluable.  The book was professionally proofread before the ARC release, but a few errors still got through the professionals, but my team found them!

I'm working on a new murder mystery series and also working on [new project if any].  I will surely contact you all when these books are ready to go in the hopes you will have the time to participate on another launch team!

DON'T FORGET TO PUT A LINK TO LEAVE A REVIEW IN YOUR FINAL MANUSCRIPT!

HOW TO CREATE A REVIEW LINK FROM AN ASIN NUMBER:

Below is the review link for my Car Wash book.  Each review link is created the same way.  Your link will be this link with your ASIN number.

Just copy this link starting from the http all the way to the asin=.  Then substitute your ASIN for my ASIN, as shown below:

http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=YOURASINHERE

Book Formatting – Ebook, Paperback & Hardcover

3-Page-KDP-Formatting-Cheat-Sheet-Image

In this blog post I will explain how to go from an eBook template, to a Paperback Template and then to a Hardcover Template.  What is the benefit of this?  By doing it this way, you don't have to start over each time with a different template and redo all of your styles!

REMINDERS FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS:

Be sure to remember to embed fonts into your documents.  Go to File > Options > Save > Scroll down until you see this section about Embedding the fonts.  Only check the first box.  This information is from KDP.

Embedding-fonts-example

LET'S START WITH THE EBOOK MARGINS

EBOOK COVER SIZE:  1600 X 2560 – 300 dpi
If you will be using a cover on the web, make a copy of your eBook cover at 72 dpi.  This will make your cover images faster to upload and download on the web.

I use an 8.5 x 11 size paper but I have seen videos saying you can use the size of your paperback.  But I'm teaching people the way I do it.  To get to these settings, Click on the Layout Tab > Margins > Custom Margins.  Below is a picture of the settings that I start with.

This formatting has no gutter and the pages are completely centered.  That's why I use this formatting.

Ebook-FormattingFromWord



document-styles-and-headings

NEXT STEP:  Spend time changing your styles.  You will need the following:

Normal - with indent of .02" 
Normal-no-indent - for first paragraph after Chapter
Book Title
Book Subtltle
Book Author
Scene Ending, if applicable

I take away all of the styles that I won't be using.  This makes your template more sleek.  You don't have to comb through all of these styles that you will never use.  In order to delete them from the gallery, right click on the style and choose to remove from the gallery.

FORMATTING THE PAPERBACK:

KDP suggests you use Kindle Create to make the manuscript, but it was always too finicky for me.  I use the same manuscript size for the paperback, 5.81 x 7.81 and just use only page breaks, no headers and no page numbers.  I haven’t ever had a problem.

The following pictures are for the eBook and the Paperback.  I’ll write them below.

Paperback-Settings-in-word

FORMATTING FOR EBOOK SPECIFICALLY:

Use simple page breaks.  Don’t add page numbers or headers

FORMATTING FOR PAPERBACKS:

You need to use section breaks at the end of each chapter so that your chapter pages are on the right hand side in the real-world paperback.  That is considered an “odd page”  The book title is the first page and you want that on the right-hand side.

You need to put in page numbers and headers for the Paperback.

You need a full total of pages.  By skipping some even pages and numbering the first pages with Roman numerals, be sure you take the total page count from the bottom of your Word document.  It will be more than your pages in the book.  That is the number you will need to go to the Paperback book cover calculator



CHANGES FOR THE HARDCOVER MANUSCRIPT:

Hardcover-Settings-in-word

FORMATTING FOR BOOK COVERS:

EBOOK COVER SIZE:  1600 X 2560 – 300 dpi
If you will be using a cover on the web, make a copy of your eBook cover at 72 dpi.  This will make your cover images faster to upload and download on the web.

KDP-calculator
Paperback Hardcover Book Cover calculator: https://kdp.amazon.com/cover-calculator

Once you have the number of pages of your paperback, go to the calculator at the link above, and click through the calculator and choose what you want.
Then choose the proper trim size. I use Width: 5.06"
And Height: 7.81". The proper size for your Paperback and Hardcover should be determined by the average in the genre of books you are writing to.
If you use 6” x 9” for your paperback, then you can use the same manuscript for the Hardcover and only have to redo your Hardback Book cover
Tip if you are using Gimp: Once you create your book cover graphic in layers, save the Gimp file and export to a jpg. Then open the jpg separately and export and save a PDF. I say this because when I was new, I was hours and hours trying to figure out why my text kept getting thrown off-kilter.

Gimp – How to Create a Hardback Book Cover from a Paperback Book Cover

GIMP FOR WRITERS OR OTHER NEWBIES:

This is a shortcut for self-published authors and writers who are creating their own book covers.   This will save you at least two hours in design time and even more if you are a beginner.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

self-doubts-picture

  • You need to make a copy of the front and back of your paperback.  Save separately as jpg files.
  • Add the back and front into the proper size hardback cover template
  • Create a new background
  • Add the Spine so that everything fits exactly.

DOES IT WORK FOR ALL COVERS?

My chosen size for the Hardcover book is 6 x 9 inches.  My paperback is in a 5.06 X 7.81.  So I'm only going up about an inch.  This technique won't work if you need to grow your book cover much more than that.  But with the amount of time saved, it may be worth the trial!



WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

checkline and outlineYou need to get the proper hardcover template from KDP.  There is a Paperback and Hardback calculator here

You need to know the exact number of pages your hardback book is.  Special note to beginners:  This isn't the book page count.  This is the real page count when you count all of the skipped "even pages" before the chapter odd pages.   For example:  My Sanctuary book has 257 pages but the real count is 262.  So when I went to the KDP calculator, I entered 262 as the page count.

Once the KDP Hardcover Calculator creates the book cover template, download to your computer.  You may have to open the zip file.  If you have any trouble with it -- like I did in the video below -- try shortening the name of the folder.  When I shortened the name, I was able to extract the files in the zip folder.

WHEN DO WE GO TO GIMP?

Hardback-cover-templateOpen the hardback cover pgn document in Gimp.  Everything in pink is margin.  The spine text must fit into the white area in the center between the front and back.

The first order of business is to put guides around the pink margin areas.  If you don't know what this means, check the video below where I show you how to do it.

START WITH A JPG OF YOUR PAPERBACK BOOK COVER:

Pull up a jpg of your paperback cover.  You cant use the gimp file with all the layers.  If you do, you will go insane.  So make sure it's a single document.  If you saved it as a pgn, that will work too.  Open the cover as one layer, either a jpg or a png file.



HOW TO COPY A SELECTION AREA IN GIMP:

Gimp-toolbox-and-colors-closeup

Choose the Gimp Selection tool -- it's the second or third one in the top row -- and drag a selection box around the front of your ebook.

Right click on the selection area and choose Edit > Copy visible.  This tells Gimp to only focus on the selected area.  Now it's copied to your invisible clipboard.

Click on FIle > Create > From Clipboard.  This will take the front cover from your clipboard and throw it into a new image.  Save that as the frontcover.jpg.  Do the same for the back cover.

Referring to the template with the pink margins above, bring in the front and back covers you just saved.  File > Open as lawyer > find and click on the individual jpg files.

Once you bring in the front cover, click on the move tool, and put the front cover inside the white area in the template.  Center it as best you can.

Click on the Resize tool and click on the front cover image.  You will see a dialogue box come up and lines with boxes will form around your image.  Hold your control key and grab one corner of the image and drag out slowly, making sure to fit the cover exactly into the white area.  Avoid the spine area.

Repeat this process for the back cover.

Hardback-cover-half-way-done

This is what your cover should look like now.  Just has the front and back in place.  Notice that neither cover is going into the pink margin areas.



MAKE A NEW BACKGROUND:

In my cover, I used a gradient as my original background color.  As I demonstrate in the video below, using the color eyedropper, I made my foreground color the lighter olive green and the background color the dark olive green.

Then using the gradient tool and holding my shift key down to keep my line straight, I drew a line from top to bottom, inserting a new background that is the same as my original background.

WHAT ABOUT A PICTURE BACKGROUND?

If you used a picture scene as your background, you will bring in the picture as a new layer.  File > open as layer > and click on your background picture.  Just as you pulled your front and back covers into place using the resize tool, do the same with your background.

NOW FOR THE BOOKCOVER SPINE:

book spineOnce my background was in place.  The only thing left was adding a new spine that fit exactly into place.

My text is white, so I changed my foreground/background colors back to black and white.  I made sure my foreground color was white as that is the color the text tool pulls from.

Click on the text took and type in your title.  Highlight it all and increase or decrease the size that will fit into the spinal area.  Make sure you are looking at the guides.  The title and author need to fit in the center of these guides.

Once I was finished typing and resizing my title, then it's time to click on the rotate tool.  This took throws up a dialogue box too.  In this box, type in 90 in the top area.  Then click Rotate.  It will put your text into position to be moved into place using the move tool.

Do the same for the Author name.  Special Note for Beginners:  If you need to change the text after it is rotated, Gimp will need to take the text back to being text.  Once you rotate it, it makes it into an object.

So if you need to do that, simple click on the right layer, and click on the text tool and then click on the title.  Gimp will then automatically return it to being text only.  Fix the text size and you will need to rotate it again.

YOU'RE DONE!

Once you have created the new spine, you're done.  Save the document as a gimp file.  Then export as a jpg file.  I never save from a gimp file directly to a pdf, because when I do, I have had problems with the text falling off the page.  It may have been corrected through the years with Gimp, but I still export first as a jpg and then I open the jpg and export that as a pdf.

BELOW IS THE VIDEO WHERE I GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.



Catholic – St. Clare of Assissi – Feast Day August 11th

StClareAssissi-HolyCardSt. Clare of Assissi:

QUICK FACTS ABOUT ST. CLARE:

    • She was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1194 to a wealthy family.   Her father was a cloth merchant and her mother was a devout Catholic.
    • She was greatly inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi to give up her wealth and possessions to live a life of poverty and service to others.
    • In 1212, Clare secretly left her home and family to join St. Francis and his followers. She was initially refused entry into the order, but St. Francis eventually relented and allowed her to join.
    • She founded the Order of Poor Clares in 1212, a religious order for women dedicated to following the teachings of St. Francis.
    • She wrote a rule for the order that emphasized poverty, simplicity, and obedience.
    • She was a gifted mystic and had a close relationship with God.  She often experienced visions and ecstasies. She also had a gift for healing the sick and the dying.
    • Just two days before Clare of Assisi died, Pope Innocent IV’s papal bull, Solet annuere, written August 9, 1253, confirmed that Clare’s rule would serve as the governing rule for her community of Poor Ladies at San Damiano.
    • Two days later, Clare died at the age of 59. Her remains were interred at the chapel of San Giorgio (where St. Francis’s remains had initially lain) while an adjacent basilica to hold her relics was being constructed.  It was eventually relocated to her own chapel.
    • She was canonized as a saint in 1255.
    • For roughly six centuries, the body of St. Clare lay buried deep under the high altar of her basilica.
    •  in 1850, Pope Pius IX granted permission that excavations be made to search for the body of Clare.
    • the stone coffin containing her body was found. When it was opened, it was discovered that St. Clare’s body, though blackened with age, was still incorrupt. She was buried with her poor tunic in addition to the rule that she had written.
    • Her remains were put into a crystal coffin, which was placed in a newly constructed crypt (completed in 1872) within the basilica. The feast of the Finding of the Body of St. Clare, which was instituted by Pope Pius IX, is celebrated by the Franciscans and Conventuals, as well as the Poor Clares.

  • In time, Saint Clare's remains began to deteriorate; thus, a mask was constructed to cover her remains, which were soon reduced to bones. The mask can be seen by the public today, while her actual relics can be seen only by the sisters who have access to the rear of the crypt.


Peek Behind the Novel – Level 5

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:

The last Peek Behind the Novel video may have been a tips video.  So I'll just jog everyone's memory here.  In Layer 4, that is the 'down-and-dirty' first draft.  That's where, using my scene outlines, I write the scenes.  I just keep going.  I don't check anything.

WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS NOVEL:

Four-story timelinesAlthough I follow a detailed outline of the story before I even start writing, each novel presents its own issues and/or problems.  In this novel, I had several timelines I had to keep straight.

There is a crime timeline.  Then there is the story timeline, where all the clues are dropped into the story.  The characters had a night-out and that had its own timeline.  Plus the subplot has a timeline.

Because I had to concentrate on keeping all of these timelines straight, I only sketched in the subplot.  That means that in Layer 5, I will also be writing my subplot into the story.  I can concentrate on the timeline for the subplot by itself.

Scrivener-Guidepost-subplot-availability

However, I did leave guideposts in Scrivener for myself to make laying in the subplot easier for myself.  As shown above, I write in a guidepost where I have free time for a scene from the subplot.  I also highlight it so it's easier to find.  Without these guideposts, I would have to pick through the whole novel looking for places to fit in the subplot scenes.

Scrivener-Guidepost-timeline-reminder

Another guidepost I left for myself is to highlight a timing that is involved in the subplot.  By keeping this highlighted, it's a constant reminder that this timing may have to change as I write the entire subplot.  This too prevents me from having to search and find or nitpick through the entire novel.



WHAT I DO IN WRITING LAYER 5:

Normally, Layer 5 is where I write in all of the descriptions; descriptions of the characters and the locations.  I fix any glaring errors that pop out at me, but I make sure I don't get lost in any type of real proofreading.

Scrivener-Screenshot-of-SynopsisThe second thing I do in Layer 5 is to fill out the Synopsis section.  This section is in the upper right-hand side of the Scrivener platform.

I use only a few words to indicate what happened in this scene, especially what clues have been dropped.  I don't use anything longer than a short sentence.  The purpose for this is so that once I am finished writing Level 5, I can look at the entire story in Outline View.  I have a snapshot of the Outline View below.

Scrivener-OutlineViewExample

Once I have all of the scenes in and I have the synopsis filled out, I can view the novel from a bird's eye view again.  This will let me know where the book is "sagging" or where I don't have enough going on.

I can see the weight of the story in this viewport.  I can see the interactions of all of the characters.

LAYING IN THE ENTIRE SUBPLOT:

couple-in-heart-sub-plotNow, because I had to kind of abandon the full subplot in Layer 4, I will be finishing the subplot while I'm doing the descriptions and the synopsis box.  Once I'm done with this layer, then I'll be back to discuss what happens in Layer 6!

Benefits of Writing Fiction in Layers:

1. Manage creative energy.
2. Keep the entire novel project manageable
3. Writing in layers leads to several layers of accomplishment
4. A story written in layers is a richer and deeper story.

Tips on Writing in Layers:

1. Name each layer and know your specific mission. This leads to a
feeling of completion and also a feeling of accomplishment several times during the entire project.
2. Learn the difference between creative energy and drudgery energy.
3.  By breaking the writing process down into layers, it is less taxing on your memory.

YOU CAN SEE A VIDEO OF THIS MATERIAL BELOW:



Book Marketing for Authors with Mailchimp

BEFORE WE GO TO MAILCHIMP:

This blog post is geared specifically for book marketers in the examples I use, but the information is relevant to anyone who is interested in learning how to use Mailchimp as a marketing tool.

Before we go to Mailchimp, it's important to know where Mailchimp fits into the whole picture.  So let's take a closer look at how Mailchimp comes into play when you are selling and/or giving books away.

LETS LOOK CLOSELY AT AN EMAIL PROMOTION AT BOOKFUNNEL:

Diagram-of-eBook-Giveaway-at-Bookfunnel

Above is a diagram of how once you upload a book at Bookfunnel, and a reader clicks on it, the diagram shows how the $20 a year package handles the email and how the $100 a year program handles it.

As you can see, there is one manual step of downloading the emails from Bookfunnel and then uploading them into your email list at Mailchimp.  If you are a brand new author or a brand new marketer, if you know how to copy and paste, you can move emails from Bookfunnel to Mailchimp.

LET'S LOOK CLOSELY AT A SALES PROMOTION AT BOOKFUNNEL:

I added this diagram to show new book marketers that entering sales promotion is not the same as giving books away.  When readers click on your giveaway books, that's when they sign up for your newsletter.

If you enter your book into a sales promotion, the readers go directly to your book to purchase it.  I mention this because, as a newbie, I went through a long period where I entered too many sales promotions and not enough giveaways!

As anyone in marketing will tell you, people unsubscribe from time to time.  So it's important to continually build your email list.  With this knowledge, hopefully you won't make the same mistake I did.



MAILCHIMP - IS THERE REALLY A FREE TRIAL?

Mailchimp-free-trial-page

There is a 30 day free trial at Mailchimp.  You have limited access to some of the bells and whistles, but there is 30 days where it will cost you nothing.  However, as soon as you click on this button, you will be taken to the page that compares all of their pricing packages.

MAILCHIMP - PRICING AND WHAT YOU NEED TO REALLY KNOW:

Mailchimp-Different-pricing-packages

The process of growing a sizeable book marketing email list takes a lot longer than 30 days, so it's best that you know what is behind the other packages that we will focus on.

The free plan only allows you to collect up to 500 emails.  That's a lot for a beginner, but you will be surprised how quickly you can accumulate over 500 emails.  The next package is called the Essentials package.  This one costs $13.00 a month or slightly over $100 a year.  This is the plan I have been using.

This plan allows you to build a list up to 2500 emails.  Once you grow over that amount, it begins to charge a little more for every 5o to 100 emails after that.  Once you grow past 3,000, then this becomes an expense.  Hopefully by then you will be selling enough books to cover your monthly business costs.



Here is a close-up of the Essentials plan.  This plan works well for me as a book marketing platform for the following reasons:

  1. It allows me to integrate Bookfunnel with Mailchimp and it also allows me to integrate Mailchimp with my WordPress website.  This type of integration doesn't come with the first plan.
  2. You can have up to 3 separate audiences.  An audience is a fancy word for email list.  Now, it may be easier for you to keep one list and separate the emails using Tags.  For example:  I write mystery romance and also vampire books.  You can use a tag entitled "vampires" and one entitled "mystery" and this would be enough to function with one list but target each segment by using a tag.
  3. This plan also allows up to three users in case you have a family member who helps you with marketing or you want to hire someone down the road.
  4. You do get more templates with this plan, but as I go into in the video below, having more templates is really no big deal.  Most people follow a very similar template for a weekly or monthly newsletter.

MAILCHIMP ALLOWS ONE AUDIENCE  BUT . . .

I already touched on how to use Tags to segment off your one audience list.  Above  I have a snapshot from the video and it shows an example of some of the tags I have used with my giveaways both at Bookfunnel, SiteOrigin and my website at readfirstchapter.com.

CONCLUSION:

Mailchimp used to be the cheapest and best gig in town.  But through the last ten years, it now has the most bells and whistles and is used by big companies and is no longer catering to the little guy anymore!  But they have every tool imaginable and I find using their design center easy and quick.

I'll post the video below and you can see towards the end when I go into Mailchimp and show the design studio how it works.

CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEO ABOUT MAILCHIMP:



How to Start a Mailing List with Bookfunnel

WHAT WILL WE COVER?

We’re going to  cover how to sign up, what the dashboard looks like, how to upload your books, where to find the promotions to enter, what an author swap is and how to find one.  I’ll show you a few examples using my own books.

IT ALL STARTS AT BOOKFUNNEL:

Bookfunnel-Join-PageGo to bookfunnel.com and sign up for an account.  Here is a screen shot from the first page.  I've fiddled with it to show the actual address and the logo, but it will look similar to this picture here.

It's important to read the rest of the blog first so you know which plan or package you want to sign up for.

BOOKFUNNEL HAS THREE PACKAGES:

The first package called First-Time Author costs $2o per year.  This is good enough for a new author or anyone else operating on a shoe string.  With the $20 package, you are entitled to one pen name, and up to 500 downloads per month.

With this $20 package, you can't coordinate your email list with a mail program.  However, that's not a problem because all of the emails are saved for you and you can download them from the dashboard.  Then you can easily upload to Mailchimp using a simple copy and paste.

The next package is $100 a year.  That comes out to $8.33 a month.  With this plan, you can have up to 3 pen names and up to 5,000 downloads.  But the most important benefit to this plan is that you can integrate Bookfunnel with Mailchimp or several of the other popular mail programs out there.  This gives you the ability to put this entire thing on autopilot.  This is the plan that I use.  This also gives you the right or ability to sponsor your own promotions.



LET'S LOOK AT THE DASHBOARD AT BOOKFUNNEL:

Bookfunnel-Dashboard

Above is a snapshot from the Bookfunnel dash board.  This keeps a daily count of how many downloads and clicks you have gotten from your giveaways and books that were entered into the various promotions.

There are links on this page in order to download the emails.  So if you choose to get the least expensive plan, this is where you will go to download your emails.  Bookfunnel prepares them into a CSV file and you can save and/or open these in Excel or Google Docs.

THE BOOKS TAB:

The Books Tab keeps track of the eBooks you have uploaded and how many downloads there have been.  There are drop-down links (in the orange boxes) to edit your books information and also to reupload copies.

I have perma-free books as well as Amazon Kindle Unlimited books.  I usually have an advanced reader copy being given away also.  So I use the Giveaway pages as well as the Sales pages.  I always insist that the readers give their emails to get the books.

Some authors are very touchy about giving away eBooks, but I believe giving away the books is the best, easiest and most cost-effective way of building a readership there is.

LET'S LOOK AT A BOOK PAGE - THE DETAILS

example of a book upload to book funnel

This is a screen shot from one of the books pages.  In order to upload an eBook to Bookfunnel, you will need:

  • eBook Bookcover – high resolution
  • Short blurb about the book.
  • ePub copy of your book
  • mobi copy of your book
  • pdf copy of your book

To offer a free-download, you will need to upload the book files as shown here.  To enter promotions for sales of your book, you will need to create a landing page.



HOW TO CONVERT A WORD DOCUMENT TO EPUB AND MOBI:

Chrome-extension-file-converter

Above is a Google Chrome Extension that you can find in the Chrome Web Store.  This one allows you to convert almost any document.  However, it allows you to convert word documents to epubs and mobi formats.

LET'S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE OF A GIVEAWAY PAGE:

example of a bookfunnel giveaway page

This is what a Free download page looks like.  When you enter your book into a promotion and someone clicks on it, they see this page.

You choose the header, subheader and the book description.

In order to get the free book, they must sign up to your newsletter, and then verify their email.  Then Bookfunnel delivers the book.  Bookfunnel then either holds the email in a list that you download ($20 membership level) or it sends it to your list at Mailchimp ($100 membership).

LET'S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE OF A SALES LANDING PAGE:

example of a sales page at bookfunnel

The books you list for sale will need to be set up on what Bookfunnel calls "sales pages".  This was a bit confusing for me when I was new.  To create a giveaway page, that seems to be as easy as just uploading your book and choosing to require the readers to sign up with an email.  It's one or two clicks and you are done.

But the sales page, you need to click over in the menu on Sales Page.  Then you will be led through with a widget to create your sales page.  It's easy peasy.  The confusing part for me was that I kept forgetting to click on "Create a Landing Page."

LET'S FOCUS ON BOOK PROMOTIONS:

Above is a screen shot of the promotion genres that are at Bookfunnel every month.  These are numerous promotions in each of these categories.  When you click on the plus-signs, a longer list of promotions opens up in each of these categories.  As you can see, just about every genre of fiction and non-fiction is covered.

The numbers in the parentheses are how many promotions are available in that category.  Below we'll look at a category close up.

MYSTERY SUSPENSE PROMOTION CLOSE UP:

Above is an example of some of the promotions in the Mystery & Suspense category.

There are promotions for Sales, Amazon, Kobo, and some for Giveaways and also Kindle Unlimited.

I’ve been using Bookfunnel for about three years now and I’ve built a mailing list of 3,000 or so readers.   In my humble opinion, this is the easiest way for a self-published author to market their books.

WHAT ARE BOOK SWAPS?

Bookfunnel also offers “Book Swaps”.  A book swap is when you agree to feature someone else’s book in your newsletter and they agree to feature one of your books.  This is a great way to get even more readers to see your eBooks.

Below is an example of a “Weekly Feature” panel from one of my own Author Swaps.

Book-swap-newletter-panel

THAT'S ALL YOU NEED!

Bookfunnel-add-new-book

That’s all you need to know in order to sign up with Bookfunnel to start a readership list today.

Whether you are marketing books or anything else, a mailing list is the most personal way to keep in contact with your client and/or customer base.

In our next video, I’ll show you all you need to know to sign up with Mailchimp.com, which is the other piece of this mailing list puzzle.

BELOW IS VIDEO ON BOOKFUNNEL:



Eight Tips to Keep on Track During the First Draft of a Novel Manuscript

ONE:  Turn Off Smart Quotes and Sentence Case Correction.

Smart-quotes-straight-quotesTurn these Scrivener features off, especially if you plan to move your finished novel draft into Microsoft Word for final formatting.   Because I self-publish and I need to upload in ePub and PDF manuscript, I use Word for a final proofread and formatting.   I find Word is the best choice for me.  The smart quotes do not translate well between Scrivener and Word.  If you turn off the smart quotes, Scrivener will replace them with straight quotes and these translate better.

There is really no upside to using smart quotes in a novel.  This is not a feature that will prevent you from leaving out a quote.  It's really useless for an author, so its best to shut this feature off.

The sentence case correction will not allow you to add a lower case letter after a period.  This doesn't seem like it would be a problem, but at least once during a first or follow-up draft there's a time when this auto correct starts wrestling with me when I'm trying to do something.  So I shut it off now at the beginning.

If you search "auto correct" in the Scrivener help bar, you will be able to open up this feature and uncheck these two items.  You'll thank me for it later.

Also, there is a whole layer of proofreading that I'll be making a blog post about in my Peek Behind the Novel series where I will show you how I use the find feature to check on every single quote mark.  I've always had at least one or two that almost got away!  So the smart quotes are nothing but a nuisance.

TWO:  JUST KEEP WRITING - DON'T LOOK BACK:

typing-hands-gifI'm writing my fourth novel in the Jack Nolan Detective Series.  The book is still unnamed.  This is Level 4 in my Eight Levels of Writing a Novel series.  This first draft is down and dirty.  It is the hardest lift of the entire project.  At least for me, the first draft is the hardest.  The characters all seem like stick figures.  I find them unlikeable -- even if I liked them in the last book!  Any humor doesn't seem to work.  Everything just seems awkward.  I have to literally force myself to keep typing.   So this tip is to just keep writing.  Don't check on any spellings or grammar.  Don't even look back.  Just keep going until you have the crime down, the main plotline down and the subplots at least in place.  That will complete the first down-and-dirty draft.  Every other layer will be easy compared to this one.



THREE:  YOU CAN DO RESEARCH NOW ON THE FLY

do research on the fly with bardWith bard.google.com, now it's possible to do research on the fly when writing fiction.  Simply open a browser window, type in bard.google.com and start asking it questions.

Unlike ChatGPT, Bard is a Google AI product supposedly still in beta form, but it works like a charm.  Unlike ChatGPT, it can research using the internet.  ChatGPT is limited by time; the cutoff for ChatGPT the last time I checked was sometime in September of 2021 I believe.  The cut off of what it  can access is now way over a year ago.  So I find that Bard is a better option for book research so you can get the latest.

FOUR:  USE THE SCRIVENER HIGHLIGHTER AS A REMINDER:

scrivener-highlighterScrivener allows you to highlight text in any color you want.  I use this highlighter in the Level 4 Draft to make a mental note to myself to check on things.  For example:  If I say that someone is coming home from a hospital in four days, I highlight this.  This makes sure that this lines up with the plotline, or the crime line, or the subplot lines.

As an author, I will often tweak the script, especially as I'm writing.  It's too easy to forget this early reference to five days.  By highlighting it, it's a reminder that this timing needs to line up with something later on in the story.  I find this highlighter a great author tool.

FIVE:  LEAVE THE POV | TIME | LOCATION HEADERS IN THE DRAFT:

scene templateLike I mentioned earlier, I'm in the first draft of my novel and each scene begins with the same Scene Template as seen to the left.

I leave the POV, which stands for Point of View at the top of each scene during the first draft.  I don't choose the POV before I write the scene.  I write the scene and see which character claims the scene.  Then I assign that one character to the scene.

POINT OF VIEW:  By keeping the POV at the top of the scene, it's a reminder to me to make sure the entire scene is in this one point of view.  I admit that I allow myself one small head jump at the end of a scene.  I'm a self-published author, so I can indulge myself and get away with this.  I believe a reader can handle one head jump at the end of a scene for the purpose of informing them of what the other character thinks at one time.  I don't believe one head jump creates that big of a problem.

TIME AND LOCATION:  By leaving the Time and Location information at the top of each  scene, it is a reminder to make sure I describe the scene and whoever else may need a description in that scene.  In Layer 5 of my writing system, I go through all the scenes and add descriptions of the locations and people.  So this information makes that level of writing easier.



SIX:  KEEPING TRACK OF MULTIPLE TIMELINES:

I write Christian mystery romance, private investigator mysteries and police procedurals.  By leaving the timings in the header to each scene, it allows me to keep track of the story timeline.  I am always keeping track of multiple timelines in each novel.  I have the crime timeline.  Then there is the timeline of the investigation and the dropping of the clues.  And the subplots also have a timeline as each book has at least a small character arc.  This is because I write in series and the characters have one small character arc in each novel.

So that's a minimum of three timelines that I need to track.  So keeping these timelines at the top of the scenes as I go from layer to layer of writing, it makes it easier to make sure things are lining up on each timeline.

I keep these headers inside the manuscript draft until I'm ready to put the book into chapters.

SEVEN:  ADDING ADDITIONAL SCENES WHEN WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT:

There comes a time or two when I will decide to add a short scene or two.  It may just be to have a change in the point of view or to get the characters to a different location.  Whatever, it is, I use three asterisks between these two separate scenes.  I also start the second scene with my normal Scene Template.

This allows me to know this is a separate scene and it will have a point of view.  It also alerts me that I will need to insert a scene ending which I won't do until I bring the manuscript into Microsoft Word.

EIGHT:  USE SCRIVENER SYNOPSIS SECTION TO KEEP TRACK OF CLUES DROPPED:

Scrivener-Synopsis-SectionWhen writing the first draft, I use the Scrivener Synopsis section in the Inspector Pane to list the clues I have dropped in that scene.  Once I've finished the first draft, I can open the project in Outline View and this will give me a bird's eye view and chronology of the clues that have been dropped.

Personally, I often also add background information that I dropped in the scene.  I do this only because I have a tendency to forget whether I dropped that background information in the present novel or if my memory of dropping it is from the last novel I wrote!

This alone is a major reason why I love writing drafts in Scrivener.

CONCLUSION:

So these are the tips I would pass on about writing this first draft of a novel.  Knowing that it's the hardest allows me to know that once I make it through this first draft, all subsequent layers of writing will be easy peasy compared to this one.

All I need to do is to blurt out the entire story in the first draft.  All corrections, additions, deletes and polish will come in later layers.