How I started my own publishing company with less than $1,000 dollars

Ebooks proven to stay

2010-04-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Resurrection Sunday! I have been doing some research on how the kindle version of books have been doing the last couple of days and I have found it to be proven against al odds.

I viewed some kindle versions of books that are also in print and I was surprised to see how vast of a difference there was in terms of sales! For example, one title has a print version of 6.2 million on the amazon sales rank and a sales rank of 2,000 on the kindle charts!

My recommendation: For any new author out there find a book cover designer such as Daniel Middleton from Scribe Freelance www.scribefreelance.com and have his team put together the entire interior layout and graphic cover design. SKIP all of the other stuff such as back cover, etc.,etc. The costs are minimal and with enough blogging on the web your book could be booming in no time.

My book recently made it into the top 2,000 (http://mortifiedbooks.com) and has done wonders for me as a new author selling my book at 0.99. Be on the lookout for the sales to soar once the sequel to the book comes out later this month. Don't forgewt to jum on the iPad bandwagon that was just released by Apple. Jump in and join the party! Sorry to keep it short, but it is a holiday.

Myebook - How Did I Get Here?

2010-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Myebook - How Did I Get Here?

My thoughts on the publishing future

2010-01-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

As of late, I have been getting numerous questions on where do I think the bulk of the publishing world is going. The answer in short is going digital. I know, I know there are a lot of people that are from the traditional paper mill that will fight tooth and nail about this sort of thing. But, the reality is just look at the statistics of what the current selling trend is. There is no doubt that that digital books are on the rise by an astronomical rate. It cracks me up to read some posts by traditional publishers who try to fight tooth and nail that there is no way that this will be possible as the dominant source in the near future. It is more than logical to note that to publish digitally there is almost no production costs, unless you hire a third party to design your book. Not only that, there is no risk involved except for a crappy review if your work is under par. The other beauty is that if you are an indie author/publisher you literally can set your own price. This prevents killing the wallets of your customers during a recession where they have already sacrificed so much money to pay for their e-reading devices. Keeping your costs down will help tremendously to satisfy your customers. This is why I don't mind charging only a dollar or two dollars to sell my book in digital form. This keeps my readers happy and it increases the readership. If you were able to look at the Amazon sales rank most of the top 100 books are priced at ZERO dollars!!! That's right ZERO. Heck, when I get tired of seeing my books sell for a time, I am more than sure that my books will be downloadable currency free. There is no limit to promoting a book and what better way than to do it free? I could see why there are so many Kindle customers out there that are just banning digital books that are over $10. If it has to cost that much, then it might as well be in the bookstore. This is not the conditioong of online consumerism. When these big time publishers get the picture and those already talented authors get the message that you don't need someone from New York to validate your talents it is no doubt that the future is digital and those that try to fight it will be left behind. By the way for an unknown indie author/publisher our initial novel just broke into the top 9,000 for kindle sellers! That is something to say for a company that started a publishing press from their laptop in a townhome living room.

Check out Writers Inspirational Articles

2010-01-08T16:53:00.001-08:00

I want you to take a look at: Writers Inspirational Articles

Reviewing of E-books for free!!!

2010-01-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mortified Books' editorial staff will now be reviewing ebooks for FREE!! That's right for F-R-E-E. For anyone out there trying to get their works reviewed for e-books specifically here is your domain. Mortified Books will call it like we see it! But, please note that we are not in the business of bashing the hard work of others. We are here to help promote those that are striving to master their crafts. And if you feel that you have it mastered, we'll put it to the Mortified test. Many authors are finding it really hard with budget constraints to get their books reviewed. Think about it. Someone just starting out has already poured all of their time, heart, and soul into getting their worked published; now an author is expected to turn around and pay to get their book reviewed? C'mon man!! So we offer our services to you. We are pleased to have this service offered to the writing community and to help all of those in need of a quality review.

In my opinion, success has never been in trying to find out how much money could be squeezed out of every single customer we come across, but it all lies in the service that you provide. For instance, let's take a look at the e-book market. Most of the books that are in the highest sales rank are what, F-R-E-E!!!!!!!!!!!! It's also the same reason that Wal-Mart is so successful, more for less. Who can compete with that besides the local dollar stores? So the new publishing and e-review revolution is starting to take off by the minute so why not come in and enjoy the fun? There's nothing to lose except exposure. So feel free to drop your e-book to mortifiedbooks@gmail.com We'll be looking forward to your submissions and any questions that you may have. As a token of your appreciation we ask you to donate generously to the movement via Paypal. This will not only help you get your books reviewed by us, but also will provide funds for all of you to get your reviews into bigger distribution channels as all of our reviews will automatically go on Amazon and other retailing sites.

OUR LOGO

2009-12-29T10:49:00.001-08:00

I am so sorry for the delay in the logo, but ladies and gentlemen..........The symbol of Mortified Books is here:

Website is finally up!

2009-12-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Throughout these rough economic times, I think it is imperative that as authors we should do the most effective marketing possible with the least amount of money possible. That is to say that as a student still in school I have had to take the back seat in a lot of cases and do my best with free website builders. So, Mortified Books finally broke down and took the plunge!!!!!!!! After searching for some cartoon illustrations for a graphic novel, the world famous Daniel Middleton of Scribe Freelance recommended to me Craig Howarth of South Africa! His work is more than phenomenal and he can definitely bring a book to life in the 21st century. As I was sampling his work I came across zoomshare.com which is a way to set up a free website! Very good for any startup entrepreneur. After doing some studying and learning the technicalities of how to get the site up and running it really only took me about 15 minutes to do. All of the ads on the site are powered by google, which doesn't have an effect on me since Google is so well-known like Nike in cyberspace. My new website is www.ahmadwilliams.zoomshare.com This site will improve as new developments arise and you will also see the final cover of my latest children author Linda Conner. The project was definitely a new one for all of us since she actually did all of the illustrations herself!!! It was really a great team effort by all involved as it was finally complete on Christmas. No one took a day off and Daniel worked his magic diligently. The great news is that Linda has just offered to refer 3 more people to Mortified Books to be added to the family. 2010 we will be hitting the ground running away from the competition.

Kindle is selling

2009-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

I just checked in on Kindle today and I have sold five books already for the month of December! I can't believe that it is actually selling better than my print version. OK well maybe I can believe it. The world is moving completely digital and if you care about the environment, how much more productive do you need to be? The book started out with only one sale in Oct, 3 in November, and already 4 in the first two weeks of December. This could prove to be very good going into the New Year. My thesis is underway at my seminary and I can't wait to get this STM degree. Back to the Kindle version of my print book. It has proven to be very useful in the 21st century. I can't even begin to name all of the digital hosts out there that are willing to sell books. The greatest resource of date for any young publisher is to go to www.smashwords.com. Mark Coker is a genius! It is all free and all it takes is one successful submission and your book is available in every digital format known to man. I finally broke down and got acclomated with twitter so to follow me just go to www.twitter.com/writingreverend God Bless!

Natural Bodybuilding

2009-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Over the last seven weeks my wife and I have been doing natural bodybuilding. I plan on competing and my wife just wants to flattern out her midsection. It is no coincidence that she looks younger than me even though I am the younger one. Our foods have changed drastically and our work ethic almost impeccable. We believe that God gives us a perfect body so why let it go to waste by just sitting around. Our water intake has risen and when its all said and done there is no room for sugar drinks. It cracks me up when some people that are overweight say they do diet this and diet that. The reality is to cut that crap out! Anything with high fructose corn syrup will bring you down. We have a tendency to get love handles and we found out that there is nothing but sugar in there. After cutting out the sugar and doing high intensity cardio for 45 minutes everyday the changes are amazing of what could happen within a week's time. I had my doubts in the early going, but after about two weeks of training I found my body making positive changes. The key is patience. If it took you a few years to put on all of that weight, then it will more than likely it would take that long to get it off. Getting up at 5 am isn't an isssue anymore and eating 6 small meals a day is my new best friend. I would always recommend training with your spouse or significant other and that way you both can discuss how you are feeling and the compliments and intimacy will increase dramatically!!!!!!! There's no magic formula and no magic pill out there that will help you achieve the results that you are looking for. And no a million crunches aren't going to do the trick either. Make up your mind that you are going to make a change within yourself and stop feeling like a slob for no reason. Persistence and prayer never hurt anyone. Be sure to look for transformation pictures within the next couple of weeks.

Mortified Books To Publish It's First Children's Book

2009-12-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Mortified Books is proud to announce its newest author, Linda Conner to the Mortified Books family. Linda feels that this is a gift that the Lord has given her and wants the world to benefit from the gift. Her self-illustrated book, "The Adventures of Molly Dolly: The Case of the Lost Smile" will be available this month. It is our first Children's Book and we are so excited! She has already made many bookings for signings in schools and libraries all around the Columbus area as well as some locations on the East Coast. And just like me she is from New Jersey!! She has been a school teacher for 20 years and we look forward to her science fiction novels as well as her poems that are expect to hit the shelves hard in 2010!

IS IT NECESSARY?

2009-12-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a blessing to be in the midst of so many people fellowshipping in the name of the Lord. I had the opportunity to preach at Exceeding Joy yesterday and it was well received. I used the Scripture of Hebrews 2:14-18. I spoke about how Jesus had to become one of us in order to feel compassiona and mercy for us in our times of struggle and need. It is no secret today that money is the God of America. There are many people living today that are not provided the opportunity to work that glorified Monday-Friday 9-5. Many are forced to work 10 hour shifts and through weekends for just simple gains of capital that never seem like enough. My wife and I ministered to a young couple who was getting ready to split their marriage apart for a car! The car was the driving force for 95% of their arguments. There was no room for Jesus. "Her Jesus was too small to fathom in a time of struggle." As she struggled through the early stages of her new marriage she asked was all this struggling necessary? Hence, the theme of the sermon. Yes, it is necessary, because it WAS! It always caught me off guard when anyone thought that it wasn't necessary to struggle in this world. If you are worshipping a God who was beat down, a minority of all sorts, from a poor land, and not born into any earthly wealth; of course it is inevitable that you struggle! In my novel, "How Did I Get Here, Preston Brown had to know what it was like to struggle in order to rise and become a better man. His ego was boosted to a point where there was no room for God and not to mention that Lustray was just part of the Devil's plan to throw him off of his straight path that had destiny written all over it. He was stripped of his bank accounts, health insurance, jobs, and even suffered some physical abuse. In case you forgot here is the link http://www.amazon.com/How-Did-I-Get-Here/dp/0982556403 If you haven't read the book please do not miss the first book of the "Here" series. Exceeding Joy and the Banks family thank you very much for the opportunity to share my gifts with the world and I look forward to keep preaching there in Columbus, OH often!!

The Writing Reverend takes post at Exceeding Joy!

2009-11-29T08:35:00.001-08:00

For a while now I have been in direct contact with Senior Pastor Conrad Banks at Exceeding Joy. For months we have flirted with the idea that we would jion forces and I would be his right hand man when it came to getting things done administratively. I have been in and out of churches, but for some particular reason my wife and I found ourselves in his church again on a last minute decision. Before the service was overwith there was another pastor there that I have only ever saw once before in my life. She stood up in front of the congregation and voiced to my wife and I that the Lord spoke to her and said that I need to walk with him and everything that is burdening in my family is not delayed, but is in process. It may seem delayed to us, but it is not in God's way of doing. And wouldn't you know it? My wife and I were talking about why some breakthroughs were not happening the way that we thought they would at this point and time in our lives.

During the Thanksgiving Day dinner for Real Men talk we had the opportunity to fellowship and eat with a few families. During that time I felt compelled in my heart to let Pastor Banks know that the Williams family is now on board 100%. We are not sure where this will take us, but we are very fortunate to be in a position where so much opportunity is available. It may not be the biggest congregation, but we are sure that it has the potential to be the most dynamic in terms of blessing others!

This has really been a great joy here in Columbus, Ohio and I pray to see a few more bodies show up within the next coming years. My wife and I will meet with the Pastor and his wife this week on some of the possibilities that are available. I want to work, but not so much that we have no opportunity to minister to our children and finding ourselves in the church more than spending time with our children. I believe that this will be another setup for us to hit 2010 with a bang! The platform is laid out and now it's showtime! I will keep you all informed on websites and bloggers that are to come. Hope to see you all there next Sunday at 3p.m. on 3424 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Oh

Getting into Bookstores

2009-10-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

As I was called into the hospital today as the on call Chaplain at The Ohio State University I had to pray for the soul of a young 20 year old man. His mother could not breathe and was in shambles. At the same time I received another page to give the anointing of the sick to a patient that had already passed away. Because I am not Catholic I have the responsibility of calling priests that, because there are not any on staff. The priest kindly informed me that after they have passed away there is no such thing so he left it to me to be the chaplain to the family. When I walked to the patient's room to assess the situation the family was gone so I just said a prayer over the body. The family of the 20 year old finally went to see the doctor and had time for me to same a prayer as the family. It is funny, because often times families in a crisis situation always feel the need to confess to me that so and so was not really religious. Oftentimes I just want to say that God is not really interested in if you are religious or not, but if you are interested in seeking God yourself. The family asked for a little more time and I went into the family room to kill some time and since I had nothing else to do I decided to call one of the local African-American bookstores in Columbus, OH. The name of it is The Booksuite which is located on Long Street downtown. I spoke with someone there and asked if they were open to getting my POD book onto their shelves. They told me that it would be no problem and that they would also promote a booksigning for me in December. So I got the owner's personal email address and she asked that I send in a copy of my cover as well as my synopsis and bio. So it looks like I am in! I would recommend all indie publishers to get their books into Indie bookstores whenever possible. Oh yeah, they are looking for a 60/40 split as well for about 5 copies to be put into their stores.

Why is it so hard for men to apologize to their women?

2009-10-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

My wife and I had it out the other day and we pretty know how to push eachother's buttons and we just went ahead and let it all out anyway. I said some hurtful things to her and she said some hurtful things back. I knew that I should have apologized, but for some reason I just could not bring myself to it. I knew that once I did apologize it would smash all the beef that had been cooked up between us. But for the most part I just flat out refused and just felt like that all I had to do was hold out and make her apologize and from there it would be all good. In the meantime I feel that we really went about 12 steps back from all of the recovery that we made since stopping the proceeds to our divorce over a year ago. Now I find myself sleeping on the couch and thinking about things that I shouldn't. We haven't said two words to eachother all day long and we both just interact with the children and don't coomunicate. We are at the phase of having silent arguments and not working with the children together, but on our own terms; which does nothing but confuse the kids. I outright refuse to eat any of her cooking in protest due to the ongoing dilemma and I know that I'm hungry, so I eat when she isn't looking. I am at the point where I feel that there is just no point in all of this nonsense so I think I will apologize tomorrow and get back to life as normal.

OUR PRESS RELEASE JUST ISSUED TODAY!

2009-10-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.prlog.org/10373048-mortified-books-announces-debut-novel-from-ahmad-williams.html

The novel is complete and ready for sale!

2009-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've been here and I all I wanted to do was find someone to design and distribute my book! Well, the Lord answered my prayers when i finally got a call from Scribe Freelance. I orginally liked them, because they actually called me! Most of the time I was stuck with answering machines and snotty attitudes like they were the best thing since spread mustard! But, Scribe Freelance let me top out at $850 for the entire project. He did the cover design, interior layout, and even did my company logo. The turnaround was more that impressive....he got the entire project done in less than five days and two weeks later I see the thing up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and booksamillion.com!! The distributor I went with was Lightning Source who has no problem getting your books all over the world. They are a direct department of Ingram and the results have been astounding. No one really took me serious as an author until I showed them the cover done by Daniel Middleton at Scribe Freelance and to show that it will be distributed all over the world within the next week. With Scribe Freelance I have been able to convert my work into Kindle formats and E-Book at no more than a combined $125! So for all of you who are going into Indi Publishing this is the way to go. It is cost effective and time efficient. If you have any questions or want to view the cover please check it out at this link http://www.amazon.com/How-Did-I-Get-Here/dp/0982556403

Ahmad Aleem Williams products

Web designers

2009-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

I just got done politicking with a few of the local designers and I was somewhat disappointed with the over pricing of a 3 page web site. Well, I think I found out what I am going to do now to be the most cost efficient. I am going to use a designer that is very familiar with Lightning Source, Inc. and use the locals for a logo and web design. The quote was initially $600 for 3 pages, but I will start out slow with just a couple of pages and shovel out the $400 and pay the $250 immediately for the logo. But, if anyone out there knows anything better let me know the name and number before I go too far. The characters are shaping up real well and the plot is getting thick. Preston is finally going to learn what it is like to struggle and to be in a real world situation. Stay tuned to see how he grows up in warp speed and the flack attacks that he encounters along the way.

inauguration

2009-07-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well, book fans, today starts the journey of my publishing company with the inaugural title "How Did I Get Here?". The process seems very simple and really inexpensive. First, I checked with the secretary of state to make sure that the name of the publishing company was available and no doubt it was. Then it was off to publishing ISBN numbers at rowker.com. Once these are purchased you are official as a publisher. I took the initiative of becoming my own publisher, because some of the prices that these online so called self publishers were charging were unreal. So here I am. I don't have a lot of patience and I like to have control of all of my money and my work!
As for the book it is more than a page turner and I guarantee that there will be more than a few questions about the sequel I have planned to come go along with the inaugural. Anyone out there interested in more info just blog back. Peace!