Playing the Baseball Card and the books of Wilson James, author

It's the holiday season, and I'm happy to celebrate my three years of eBook publishing. I'm also really happy to recognize that Playing the Baseball Card is leading the way for all my other books at the Apple iTunes Bookstore and elsewhere.  Good reviews and positive ratings, with the book being called 'inspiring' and 'a great book.' Facebook community calls it 'An inspiring story about two young brothers trying to pursue a dream.'

As I take in the success of Playing the Baseball Card, with just a bit of excitement and awe, I also need to make it easy to find all my books, in multiple formats, at multiple online retailers.  So, here's a complete listing of where to find all the books of Wilson James, author.  Here, also, is a link to a post about software or apps to read eBooks.

Smashwords - seven of my eBooks are available here, in multiple formats including for Kindle, Nook

Barnes & Noble – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the Nook

Apple US iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad

Apple UK iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad

Kobo – six of my eBooks are available here, in ePub format

Sony eBookstore – six of my eBooks are available here

Amazon – some of my print books are now available, with selected eBooks to be available in 2013.

Goodreads  – where to find book ratings, including some of my book

Three years, seven YA fiction titles, and tens of thousands of copies

December marks three years since I published the first of my books at Smashwords. Now I’ve got seven multi-format eBooks available through a number of online retail sales channels, including Barnes & Noble, the Apple iBookstore, Kobo, and others. I was happy to embrace the eBook format to accompany my print books. Like most other indie authors, my eBooks now account for virtually all of my sales.

In the past three years, tens of thousands of copies of my books have found their way into the hands, or devices, of readers. I’m really pleased with those numbers. What makes me even happier is the response I’ve noted in reviews. My books have been called inspiring, and ‘the most emotional’ ever read, and many other positive things.

More importantly, I hope that my books will have an impact, and that’s truly why I write. My books are about empowering youth.  

• If my stories help young people, by giving examples of kids persevering in difficult situations, then I will be very satisfied. 
• If my stories help young people overcome their own challenges, and perhaps find some inspiration, then I will be happy. 
• If my stories help young people find the tenacity and courage to succeed in their own lives, then I will be very pleased. 
• If my stories help achieve some better understanding among friends and families, then I will consider myself fulfilled. 

The ultimate reward for writing?  

If even one young person finds some example in one of my books that he or she can use in their own life, then I will consider that every moment I spent writing those books was the best possible way to spend that time.

Wil

Bought a Tablet and want to read eBooks?

Tablet + eBooks = reading made simple. 

Truly, an equation that does work.  I learned this important fact about six months ago, and I only wish I’d bought the Tab earlier. But, more importantly, I’m really glad I didn’t buy a proprietary eReader.

In fact, I’d looked at Kindles when they first came out. Then I looked at Nook, and Kobo readers. I looked at ‘no name’ readers. But, I didn’t buy, as I found some issues.

Proprietary eReaders = Different formats = Bad

One of the problems with buying a proprietary eReader is the issue of reading other formats. Okay, so if you only buy eBooks on Amazon, and you have a Kindle, that’s not a problem. But, if you like to shop around to find eBooks, that is a problem. In my case, I’ve been buying eBooks and reading them on my laptop since 2007, so I have the additional problem that some of my eBooks cannot be read on a Kindle, or on a Nook, or whatever.

One other problem I’ve heard of, but not personally experienced, is the issue of books that disappear from a Kindle or Nook or whatever, because they’ve been ‘unpublished’ somehow. Now, for me, that stinks (and I’m being polite here). If I buy something, I want to keep it for as long as I want.

Reading on a Tablet

How does this work? Easy:

1. Put an eReading app on your Tablet. I use FB Reader for Android, and highly recommend it, for ease of use. (It presents all book formats with no conversion necessary.)
2. Buy your eBooks at Amazon, or the Apple iTunes Bookstore, or at B&N, or at Kobo, or at Smashwords, or at any other fine eBook (online) retailer. I use my computer to do this.
3. Download the books from the retailer into your computer. Make a backup copy on your backup drive, as you do for all important data.
4. Transfer the eBooks from your computer to your Tablet.
5.  Start reading, and enjoy.

eBook software - eReaders: Nook for PC, Kindle for PC, and others

Images showMobipocket Reader on laptop screen

This is a great way to read!

With the increasing number of eBooks, the question is: how do we read our eBooks? Many people are buying a Kindle®, or a Nook®, or other similar e-readers. Many people are reading on their PDA, or smart-phone. Still others are starting to use their iPad®, and Apple is introducing their new iBookstore (including 6 of my books - thanks to Smashwords) to promote that. Those are all good ways to read eBooks, but there is still another option that is overlooked.

A great way to read eBooks is a way that has been in use for some time: a laptop (or desktop) computer. The really good news that there are really good software alternatives for using a laptop to read eBooks. Barnes & Noble® and Sony® have their own software to use with ‘ePub’ files. B&N has a Nook for PC. Amazon has Kindle software for PC. There are many other ways to get software to read ePub files.

If you’re still reading your books as PDF or similar files, there is a much better way.

From my perspective, after spending a lot of time looking for something I liked to use, one of the best choices for reading eBooks is software called “Mobipocket Reader®.” This turns your laptop into a really nice, big-screen e-reader. The price is right, too; it’s FREE. You can set the software to display full-screen, or part-screen. Any eBook can be displayed in many different fonts and sizes.

Both of the images above are from the Mobipocket reader.

This Mobipocket Reader requires ‘Mobi’ files, and the choice of eBooks titles in that format is huge and growing by the day. The Kindle® also uses Mobi files.

Most books on Smashwords, for instance, are available in multi-formats, and can therefore be read on a laptop with Mobipocket Reader software. Mobi files can be downloaded from many eBook retailers, including a store that comes with the software, but this Mobipocket Reader® will also convert PDF, Doc, and a number of other text file types into Mobi files so that the books can be read more easily.

So, what is my recommendation? Go get your FREE Mobipocket Reader software, get it set up on your laptop, and then look for eBook retailers that sell books in the Mobi format. As a start, I would recommend Smashwords, as they have over 30,000 titles available, and many of them are Free. It’s a really good way to get started reading eBooks.

If you want a really good book to get started with, I further recommend one of my books at Smashwords. Some are free. Try the software to see how it all works, and I think you’ll be pleased and impressed. I was, and I still am.

Good luck with your reading, and

Enjoy,

Wil

FREE e-BOOKS for "Read an eBook Week"

It’s read an eBook week (March 6^th – 13^th) and I have FREE eBooks to celebrate!

I can’t claim to have originated the idea, but I fully support the “Read an e-Book Week” sponsored by Smashwords and over 30 other e-Book publishers and retailers. While I also like the printed book, the ease-of-use of newer e-readers and reader-software for computers makes it possible to carry hundreds of books around. What’s more, there are places you can find on the web to get samples of books, so you can browse just as you would do in a book store. SMASHWORDS is one example of a site where you can sample up to 50% of books before you buy. That’s right! You can read up to half of the book before deciding to buy! It doesn’t get any better or more convenient than that.

If you don’t have a Kindle® or other e-reader, you can still find really good software for reading on a computer. My preferred choice is a product called ‘MOBIPOCKET READER.’ I use it all the time myself, and it makes my laptop turn into the same thing as an e-reader worth hundreds of dollars. This software is very easy to install and use, and with the text-flow feature, can use the full screen to display pages. You can adjust the size and type of font for reading, and the software will also convert PDF and DOC files to the correct MOBI format. If you are downloading eBooks to read, you can just download in MOBI format, the same format that Kindle® uses. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

To do my part in celebration of “Read an e-Book Week,” I will continue to offer four of my books for FREE. They are all available in multiple formats (including for Kindle®) at SMASHWORDS:

• SONS and BROTHERS in SEATTLE (enter code PX99P at checkout to get it free)
• PLAYING THE ‘SON’ CARD (my second-most popular book)
• A Family Legacy: THE WATSON WORKS (now my most popular book)
• PLAYING THE BASEBALL CARD

My most recent book, ROBERT’S RIDE, is listed as “name your price” on Smashwords. That means you can get it for FREE, or you can elect to pay something for it. The choice is yours

So, that means 5 of my fiction titles are yours for FREE, in celebration of “Read an e-Book Week.”

I also recommend a site, FREE ONLINE NOVELS, where all of the eBooks are FREE, including mine! Of course, you can find my FREE eBooks at SMASHWORDS, and you can find all of my published print books and eBooks at LULU.com.

However and whatever you read, I wish for you,

Happy reading,

Wil