Oh, that's a good one. Definitely not generic! I would guess fantasy or possibly steampunk as kraken makes me think steampunk for some reason. Either way, it's a memorable title that would stand out to me in the list!

Rachael, given your scenario, a prologue makes sense. The story is essentially one large flashback, so you need the prologue to provide context. Nicholas Sparks did something similar with The Notebook.

Chenita was an exuberant, enthusiastic woman. She had just taken up writing again and had talked excitedly to her family and to us about her writing plans. She had grand dreams for her life and her love for life was infectious.

It's hard to find any meaning in death, but Chenita's life reminds me to hold tightly to my dreams and pursue them no matter what happens.

Thank you, Chenita.

Thanks for coming back, wounded monk. I had a busy summer, but am looking forward to a great fall at Novelocity. I appreciate you stopping by.

Congratulations, Kait, on releasing your ebook! I am equally excited about the possibilities this opens up for writers to experiment with lengths and genre. Not to mention, they can actually make a decent living by writing.

An ebook is simply an electronic book. Anything you would find in print (novel, collection of short stories, poetry, anthologies, etc.) can be an ebook. You just want to be sure you're giving the reader enough for his money. One short story doesn't make an ebook. Several short stories, especially if they're longer length, can be an ebook.

To get started, you need four things:
1. a good story that's well-edited and thoroughly proofread.
2. a good cover design that stands out in small size (those thumbnails aren't very big) and catches the eye.
3. a good description of the book - think back cover blurb to entice the reader to buy it.
4. a low price. The successful authors on the Kindle keep their prices between .99 and1.99. (Though several are increasing some of their books to 2.99 when the new Amazon royalty goes up to 70%). A low price allows a reader to take a chance on an unknown author for little cost.

That's it. From there, you go to Amazon and sign up with an account (if you don't have one) and follow their formatting and uploading instructions.

Thanks for the tips, Caine. It's good to know about other options out there for writers.

Excellent point, Jason. I've heard a few horror stories of companies becoming evil as you say and it seems to be a nightmare to try to recover if you've left everything in the hands of one company. Better to be cautious and spread things around a bit to protect yourself.

That's an excellent strategy, Kait. Definitely best of both worlds. Thanks for sharing.

I've added these into my reader along with your blog. Just downloaded Nail Your Novel and looking forwarding to reading it. Thanks, Roz!