Nancy's Notes From Florida

Curried Deviled Eggs

November 6, 2019

Curried Deviled Eggs makes a tempting appetizer for your party menu. If you intend to refrigerate this dish until serving, be wary of what you use to cover it. You don’t want plastic wrap, for example, that might take half the topping off when you remove it. I used a microwave cover for my plated dish. Or you can buy a deviled egg carrier with a lid.

Ingredients

6 large shelled hard-boiled eggs
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. minced green onion
¾ tsp. curry powder
Paprika

Directions

Cut the eggs lengthwise in half. Scoop out yolks and put into separate bowl. Mash yolks with spoon. Add mayonnaise, minced green onion, and curry powder. Stir to blend. Fill hollows in egg whites with mixture. Sprinkle paprika on top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Recipe may be doubled. Serves 6.



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10 Steps to Publish Your Reverted Rights Titles 

November 5, 2019

You’re thrilled that your publisher has returned the rights to your books. Assuming you plan to publish them independently, you’ll want to do a quick turnaround once these titles disappear from online bookstores.

I’ve already discussed the process for revising a backlist title that needs a serious facelift. You can read my earlier Reviving Your Backlist Titles blog series for that advice. But what if these books are fairly recent and you don’t feel the need for another line edit? Here are my suggestions on how to proceed:

  1. Obtain the most up-to-date digital file available. Clean it up by removing headers and footers and deleting proprietary publisher language. If you need to change a pdf file into an editable doc file, use a site like Zamzar and carefully check through your new file for formatting issues.
  1. Check to see if all the corrections you’d requested from the publisher for the advance reading copy had been done. Don’t assume that any errors you’d reported in the past got fixed. Also, note if any readers had written to you with further corrections. Now’s your chance to make amends. Do a thorough proofread. Doubtless you’ll always find new things to correct.
  1. Add a copyright page. Did your publisher acquire the original copyright in your name? You can do a search at the online copyright office to find your title and registration number. It’s good to have this for your files. The copyright date for your reissued book will be the same as the original unless you’ve made substantial changes to the story. Include the book’s publishing history so readers will know this is a reissue.
  1. Decide if you’ll be publishing these works under an LLC or fictitious name, in which case your company name will be listed as publisher.
  1. Buy a set of ISBN numbers at Bowker. You need a different ISBN for each format. My previous article discusses how to assign an ISBN number to your book title. This process may have been simplified with updates at MyIdentifiers.com. However, if you simply plan to publish on Kindle and remain in KU, you may not need your own ISBNs. Distribution options are discussed in my more recent Self-Publishing Made Simple blog series.
  1. Add your front and back material. Consider if you need to update your Author’s Note and Bio, remove the Dedication page, add Social Media Links, a contact Email, and a Call to Action for a Review or Newsletter Sign-Up. Will you include an excerpt for the next book? In the back matter, you can also offer bonus materials such as family trees, research notes, reader discussion questions, or articles from your original blog tour for this book.
  1. Decide how you will format the digital book. Will you hire a professional formatter, do it yourself, or use a third-party aggregator such as Draft2Digital? Will you upload it yourself direct to distributors, in which case you’ll need to establish accounts at each one, or will you use an aggregator for this step as well?
  1. Hire a cover artist. The design should reflect your current brand and other books in the series. You may need to get a new logo. Consider color schemes, image style, text fonts, placement of author name and book title, and specific genre expectations. Also add award seals if the book has won a significant contest.
  1. For paperback editions, rewrite your back cover copy. You should change it from the publisher’s version, even if only slightly. Add review quotes that you might not have had when the original book was published.
  1. Decide if you’ll link this edition to prior editions at bookstore sites to keep the reviews and to keep your series intact. Will you distinguish these books from the originals by calling them Author’s Editions? After publication, remember to claim your new editions at Amazon Author Central, BookBub and Goodreads.
10 Steps to Publish Your Reverted Rights Titles #indieauthor #indiepub Share on X

 



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RPLA 2019 Awards

October 31, 2019

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Royal Palm Literary Awards sponsored by Florida Writers Association on October 19. I’d not planned to attend since we were waiting on the birth of our first grandchild. But then he arrived early, and we found ourselves in Orlando just in time for the FWA conference. I bought tickets to attend. I was happy to see my friends from MWA Florida Chapter – Janet Little, Sharon Menear, Richard Conrath, Alan Pessin, Ann Meier and Victoria Landis.

First we ate dinner that had a chocolate typewriter for dessert. This treat had a blank piece of paper inserted in the form of white chocolate. We cheered each other on as the awards were announced.

 

I was thrilled to win the gold award for Writing the Cozy Mystery in the nonfiction – educational category. Many of my friends took home trophies as well. I wished I could have attended the entire conference, but the rest of the weekend was reserved for our kids. Such are the joys of parenthood, and now grandparenthood as well.

     

Are you thinking about entering a writing contest? See my article on Writing Contests for Published Authors for tips on choosing which competitions to enter.

 



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Return to Scottsdale

October 26, 2019

We returned to Scottsdale via a scenic route, staying overnight at Flagstaff again. Along the way, we admired the fall foliage in the higher altitudes.

    

We stopped for lunch at Lake Powell. It was just as startling as the first time to see this stretch of water in the middle of the desert.

On Thursday, we headed back to Scottsdale. We stopped at Forscher German Bakery to buy pastries, The Honey Stand and Timeless Antiques in Pine, AZ where I purchased some Thanksgiving decorations.

Then I got a text message from our daughter that made my pulse race. “You have get an earlier flight,” she wrote. “The doctor said I’ll need to have a C-Section within 24 hours.” We knew she’d been scheduled for a C-Section as her baby was breech. But it had been scheduled for Oct. 22. This was Oct. 10.

Once back at my cousin’s house, I changed our flight from Sunday to Friday. Early the next morning, I got a message on my phone. Our daughter was at the hospital waiting for surgery. Hours later, our beautiful grandson was born. And so began our new journey as grandparents.

See all Arizona Photos Here



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Bryce Canyon

October 25, 2019

Nothing can prepare visitors for the majesty of Bryce Canyon in Utah. The power of speech escapes you at the sight stretching to the horizon. Words can’t describe the sense of awe. Although the visitor center offers an explanation for how the canyon was formed, it’s as though the hand of God carved the rocks into these magnificent formations.

Some of them looked like people, making us wonder if a civilization had sinned and God had turned the citizens into stone. Certainly nature alone couldn’t have worked these wonders.

We drove from one viewpoint to the next, each with magnificent vistas.

Our final spot to visit was this Natural Bridge. I loved the trees with golden yellow leaves that sparkled in the sunlight.

An unusual sight was the number of vintage vehicles we met along the way.

We ate lunch at Bryce Canyon Lodge, stopped at the Visitor’s Center, and then returned to Ruby’s Inn to spend the night.

See all Photos Here

Visit Bryce Canyon for a sight you'll never forget #Utah #travel Share on X

Coming Next: Return to Scottsdale



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