futurehog's New Writeups

KDP Select (thing)

2012-06-03T04:42:25Z

KDP Select is a special program offered by Amazon to people who have published e-books for the Amazon Kindle. In order to participate you must agree not to publish your book in any other format besides the one sold by Amazon for the Kindle or kindle apps for a period of at least ninety days. In return the program offers authors two things. Amazon allows premium members to borrow one e-book a month, and they set aside a pool of money to be divided among the authors whose books are borrowed. If you are in KDP select people can borrow your book, and you will get a share of the money, depending on how many do so. They also allow you to give your book away for free for up to five days out of every ninety. While this may seem a dubious privilege, it can be effective as a marketing tactic, and used properly can increase paid sales. On the other hand, if Amazon discovers that you are giving away your book in another format for free, they will automatically reduce their price to match, so if someone…

Amazon MOA forum (thing)

2012-05-27T02:09:12Z

Amazon has set up a number of forums for customers to discuss their products, or whatever they feel like talking about. Last year they made a rule. Indie authors may only discuss their own books in the Meet Our Authors forum. Before this authors could try and sell their books anywhere, and some people were annoyed at the sales pitches, which were sometimes irrelevant to the subject being discussed.

Since Amazon does not charge for publishing books in kindle format, a great many people have done so. At first glance it may appear a huge volume of authors are all trying to sell books to each other. This may not be what people envision when invited to promote their book in a forum where people come to chat with authors they like, but it is not as bad as it seems. All good writers, and many mediocre writers, also enjoy reading. While it may be a challenge to get someone intent on selling their own book to buy yours instead, it has been done.

Better yet, there are some non writing…

absorption (fiction)

2012-05-10T23:42:25Z

The young girl's eyes looked identical, but when she glanced around the room the left didnât keep up with the right.

Second Lieutenant Brett Johnson said, âKeep practicing. Your eyes will move together by the time school starts.â

âOkay,â Lydia replied tonelessly. He didnât expect her to jump for joy. Her parents had been murdered and her home town destroyed a few days before. Even so,there might be another reason for the lack of enthusiasm. Her immune system had accepted the new eye â but if her mind rejected it there would be trouble.

âHow do you like your new eye?â

The corners of her mouth flickered up for a moment. âItâs wayout. I can see in the dark.â

A moment later she explained seriously, âInfer red vision.â

âMost people call it infravision,â he told her with a smile, but his mind was elsewhere. So the eye wasnât the problem. He continued to study her solemn face, which was dotted with freckles and shielded by a…

Amazon Kindle (thing)

2012-04-15T07:46:52Z

There are different types of Kindles, such as the Kindle Fire and Kindle 2. This node is about what they all have in common, and it mostly applies to Kindle apps too.

Kindles are tablet sized or smaller devices used to read e-books. They are designed to be used with mobi files, making it harder to upload e-books to servers where they can be downloaded for free. Kindles are completely integrated with Amazon's website, making purchasing and downloading e-books extremely convenient. Amazon also makes it easy for independent authors and publishers to sell e-books for lower prices than major publishing houses, and attempts to get major publishing houses to sell e-books for less than they would prefer. It is also possible to 'lend' a kindle book to someone else for fifteen days, although major publishing houses will not let this feature be activated for their books. When you lend a book to someone else it because unavailable to you for that period of time, and it is returned automatically even if…

Luminous & Ominous (review)

2012-04-14T15:17:05Z

Luminous & Ominous is a novel by Noah K Mullette-Gillman. On the surface it alternates between a small group of people who have spent years in a bomb shelter exploring a changed world, and earlier events when two mysterious objects landed on opposite sides of the planet. Alien flora and fauna are seeded and spread rapidly, eating and parasitizing earth life as they go. The alien life forms are carefully thought out and eerily beautiful.

Ultimately this book is about the humans who should be doing everything they can to prevent their planet from being taken over by alien life, yet don't always seem to. Sometimes it almost seems designed to take advantage of human foibles. Some people become convinced they are becoming part of a higher life form even as alien species use them to spread and reproduce. A few people have (almost) no desire to be infected by the eerie aliens, and it may be (almost) enough to keep them safe, or even save humanity.

The primary protagonist is Henry. Before it…

Forest Stewardship Council (thing)

2009-07-26T22:37:39Z

The Forest Stewardship Council is a non-profit organization founded in 1993. Their stated goal is to encourage the practice of sustainable forestry. They issue certifications to forests managed according to their standards, and products made from wood grown under these standards. Environmentally conscious people can choose to look for these products, encouraging corporations to adhere to these standards. This basic information is available on Wikipedia and the web site of the Forest Stewardship Council.

This is from the list of frequently asked questions on their website:

Only FSC

* prohibits conversion of natural forests or other habitat around the world
* prohibits the use of highly hazardous pesticides around the world
* prohibits the cultivation of genetically modified trees (GMOs)
* respects the right of indigenous peoples around the world
* controls each certified operation at least once a year â and if they are found not…