6 New Short Stories Up on Amazon - Kindle Quick Reads

 

Kindle Short Reads - Let's Write!

  Did you know you can write and publish short stories for Amazon Kindle? 

I've been hearing about the Kindle Short Reads for a while but finally investigated. And tested. 

As far as my research took me, these can be a few different lengths, needs to be approved, and just like every other Kindle book has to have a cover. 

Word count categories: 

15 min read: 11 pages
30 min read: 12 - 21 pages
45 min read: 22 to 32 pages
60 min read: 33 to 43 pages
120+ min read: 65 - 100 pages 

To test this I went through a few of my dozens of short stories. (All saved and filed all over my computers - someday I have to get organized.) 

I picked a creepy old story I wrote about a year ago. Went to Canva and did a quickie book cover, and popped it up on Kindle Short Reads. Took maybe twenty minutes to a half hour.  

Two things I wish I had done; 

Picked a better background picture. Done better font. 

This cover was done in five minutes. I should have slept on it. 😝  

Escaping Pigwell was 14 pages in a Word doc, double spaced, Courier New. (Yes, I should have used Times New Roman - the standard) On Amazon this story came up as 10 pages/1964 KB. I did put it through as a word doc and not a pdf. Keywords I used the basic read tags like Horror, murder, etc but also added "short read" so Amazon would tag it appropriately. 

Pricing is your choice, of course, but I opted for .99 cents. 

Since this went up so easy and went live just a couple hours later, I'm going to put up more. Sometimes I have an idea and it never makes it to book length. Now there is an place for all our stories and people who look to read them. 

In my search of these short stories I saw some shorts by Dean Koontz, Debbie Macomber, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult. So know, if you decide to publish a short, you'll be in good company. 

So if you want a dark creepy read check out Escaping Pigwell on Amazon

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Block or Choice?

As I sit here on unemployment I have time to write. Scads of time. So much time that Jano (January's version of Nano run buy a group out of PA) should be a piece of cake. Yet I flounder.
I have all the laundry done and search the house for more. Should I take down the curtains? Wash the dog beds again? Maybe. Or not.
Why aren't I writing?

Perhaps if I leap, truly take the plunge and say I'm a 9 to 5 writer it will become my reality and then what do I do?

I'd have to produce published pieces, right? I'd have to be accepted into a world I've been half-heartedly banging my head against for years.

Success? Would that be an invasion of my privacy? Do I fear that? Having to go out into the world and smooosh with people? Frankly, I'm not much of a smooosher. I'd rather do the fly on the wall bit and watch people.

Or do I fear letting people down. Mostly myself. Admitting to the world and my own soul that writing really is just a hobby that will go nowhere. How sad is that?

I think I'll go lock myself in my home office now and just open my story (aptly named "No Apologies") and see what's there.

So fellow writers....do you fear the leap? Or just jump in?

PS: That's my foster dog Leena. She's up for adoption in New Jersey through Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue

Multiple genres

As I approach getting ready to Kindle my book I wonder about a pen name. I write in several different genres so I worry about a person who reads my angel books, being upset about the darker books.
When I read Charlaine Harris I expect vampires and shape shifters. When I read Constance O'Day Connor I look for romance.
So, here's my question? How do you pick a pen name? I once read that if you write like King and Koontz you should pick a name that begins with K. Or if you're writing sci-fi pick the same initial as someone who's big in that genre.
Sounds like too much thinking. . . then there's Konrath.
King
Koontz
Hmmmmm, gotta think on this some more.
Do you have a pen name? Where did it come from?