The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: Kem on May 16, 2019, 08:52:42 AM
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Good day Folks,
After gaining some level of financial literacy I failed in searching for engaging books for my children to pass along core concepts of the thinking required to live an independent life.
As such, 6+ months ago I began writing my own.
This is the first, for free from May 21-25
https://www.amazon.com/Path-Conni-Chriselda-Lux-Chanel-ebook/dp/B07RVBBDNN
You will need a color screen
The primary medium is print - should be available soon.
Excitedly!
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Congratulations! That's really exciting!
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Nice!
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Thanks Parizade & SwordGuy.
As an aside, I plan on doing a whole series of these - keep the ebook price very low and offering a print book.
Constructive Criticism to help increase the message in future offerings would be appreciated here.
Holistic Feedback on Amazon would be appreciated to hopefully float my ranking a bit and spread the good word.
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Congratulations! Writing a book is a huge accomplishment. Actually putting it out there for people to read/buy is even bigger!
I'm a full-time fiction author (romance) and have a lot of experience with selling on Amazon.
The first thing I noticed is that neither your title nor your cover say anything about what the book is actually about. That's a huge visibility issue. I'd suggest that you create a subtitle for the book that summarizes the topic/story in a catchy, punchy way, and put that in on the Amazon product page.
Another thing you might want to do is punch up your blurb -- potentially with language, but for sure with bold, italics, etc. This helps draw the eye to the description and keeps people reading. You can look at examples from other children's books on Amazon to give you ideas on how to pretty it up!
Here's a link to an easy blurb formatter -- it's the one I use!
http://ablurb.github.io
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Awesome Kris!
The path to release was not without some internal struggles, to put it kindly! A good amount of getting over my own ego, butterflies in the tummy, etc. Tossing some backstory in the bio blurb was perhaps as hard. The mix of emotions is somewhere between elated and being disrobed in front of a crowd.
I’ll make certain the next book has a reference towards the message. Now that you point that out, what a simple(ly) devastating slip to make on the cover itself!
Cool blurb tool.
What do you think about vertical text along the:
left spine: Financial Literacy
right spine: Leveraged Living
Honest opinions on the following update to the listing blurb?:
<b><font size="5" color="#1c87c9">Financial Education for an Independent Child </font></b>
<br>Come follow Conni and Lux, two girls afforded similar opportunities in life that result in drastically different levels of <b>contentment</b>.
<br>Having followed in the footsteps and failings of Lux, I wanted to provide to my children a gift not afforded myself: <b>Financial Literacy</b>.
<br>Sadly, <i>such knowledge is oft considered taboo</i> in our society and finding engaging stories for a 3 and 6-year-old has proven most frustrating. This is my gift to them.
<br>The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to hopefully ensure that my children will not wallow in woeful ignorance as did I.
<br>Perhaps, <b>your children</b> too will find some measure of <b>enlightenment</b>.
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Awesome Kris!
The path to release was not without some internal struggles, to put it kindly! A good amount of getting over my own ego, butterflies in the tummy, etc. Tossing some backstory in the bio blurb was perhaps as hard. The mix of emotions is somewhere between elated and being disrobed in front of a crowd.
I’ll make certain the next book has a reference towards the message. Now that you point that out, what a simple(ly) devastating slip to make on the cover itself!
Cool blurb tool.
What do you think about vertical text along the:
left spine: Financial Literacy
right spine: Leveraged Living
Honest opinions on the following update to the listing blurb?:
<b><font size="5" color="#1c87c9">Financial Education for an Independent Child </font></b>
<br>Come follow Conni and Lux, two girls afforded similar opportunities in life that result in drastically different levels of <b>contentment</b>.
<br>Having followed in the footsteps and failings of Lux, I wanted to provide to my children a gift not afforded myself: <b>Financial Literacy</b>.
<br>Sadly, <i>such knowledge is oft considered taboo</i> in our society and finding engaging stories for a 3 and 6-year-old has proven most frustrating. This is my gift to them.
<br>The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to hopefully ensure that my children will not wallow in woeful ignorance as did I.
<br>Perhaps, <b>your children</b> too will find some measure of <b>enlightenment</b>.
Well, given that the cover on Amazon is a thumbnail image, it's not the end of the world. The fact is, it's easily fixable to do the subtitle by just going bck into KDP and putting it in! You don't have to change anything else.
The blurb looks good! You might also bold Conni and Lux's name in the first line -- it might draw the reader in more immediately.
As for the last two lines, I think I might change the wording a little and combine them, to focus more on marketing/selling to your prospective audience.
Perhaps something like this:
The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to help ensure that children learn financial literacy from a young age -- through stories that are as fun as they are educational! (or informative, or some other strong adjective)
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Can you remind us again on the 21st? Looking forward to reading it!
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@solon - indeed I can and will!
Nice @Kris, Thank you, again most kindly, for the assistance :)
Blurb:
<b><font size="5" color="#1c87c9">Financial Education for an Independent Child </font></b>
<br>Come follow <b>Conni</b> and <b>Lux</b>, two girls afforded similar opportunities in life that result in drastically different levels of <b>contentment</b>.
<br>Having followed in the <i>footsteps and failings</i> of Lux, I wanted to provide to my children a gift not afforded myself: <b>Financial Literacy</b>.
<br>Sadly, <i>such knowledge is oft considered taboo</i> in our society and finding <b>engaging stories</b> for them has proven most frustrating. This is my gift to them.
<br><i>The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to help <b>ensure that children learn financial literacy from a young age</b> -- through stories that are as <b>fun</b> as they are <b>informative</b>!<i/></b>
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@solon - indeed I can and will!
Nice @Kris, I am working on the Subtitle update now. Thank you, again most kindly, for the assistance :)
<b><font size="5" color="#1c87c9">Financial Education for an Independent Child </font></b>
<br>Come follow <b>Conni</b> and <b>Lux</b>, two girls afforded similar opportunities in life that result in drastically different levels of <b>contentment</b>.
<br>Having followed in the <i>footsteps and failings</i> of Lux, I wanted to provide to my children a gift not afforded myself: <b>Financial Literacy</b>.
<br>Sadly, <i>such knowledge is oft considered taboo</i> in our society and finding <b>engaging stories</b> for them has proven most frustrating. This is my gift to them.
<br><i>The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to help <b>ensure that children learn financial literacy from a young age</b> -- through stories that are as <b>fun</b> as they are <b>informative</b>!<i/></b>
Looks good!!!
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Thoughts?
Subtitle 1: Financial Literacy for your Child
Subtitle 2: Set your child on FI/RE!
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Thoughts?
Subtitle 1: Financial Literacy for your Child
Subtitle 2: Set your child on FI/RE!
Subtitle 1 for sure. FI/RE isn't a well-known enough concept for most people to get it. You want to be as clear as possible!
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Thanks!
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Semi-unsolicited advice for the blurb... some of the language might be a shade formal. I would suggest:
-change "I wanted to provide to my children a gift not afforded myself" to "I wanted to give my children a gift I never got"
-change "such knowledge" to "this knowledge" or "this kind of knowledge"
- change "oft" to "often"
- consider a substitution for the word "taboo"... I suspect some hyper-sensitive parents will be distressed by "taboo" and "children" in the same conversation
-lose the "most" in "most frustrating"
Good luck with the book! A great idea!
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Thank you kindly Gerard,
<b><font size="5" color="#1c87c9">Financial Education for an Independent Child </font></b>
<br>Come follow <b>Conni</b> and <b>Lux</b>, two girls afforded similar opportunities in life that result in drastically different levels of <b>contentment</b>.
<br>Having followed in the <i>footsteps and failings</i> of Lux, I wanted to give my children a gift I never received: <b>Financial Literacy</b>.
<br>Sadly, <i>instilling this knowledge is often ignored </i> in our society and finding <b>engaging stories</b> for them has proven frustrating.
<br><i>The tale of Conni and Lux is the first in a series to help <b>ensure that children learn financial literacy from a young age</b> -- through stories that are as <b>fun</b> as they are <b>informative</b>!<i/></b>
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Financial Literacy Primer – The eBook is Free today-May 25th
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098886534
eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RVBBDNN
Kindly let me know your thoughts.
My hope is to provide a number of these in this series.
Thanks folks!
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I assume this may be temporary, however the launch metrics are looking very good.
#63 in Children's Literature (Kindle Store - Top 100 free)
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store-Childrens-Literature/zgbs/digital-text/155189011/ref=zg_bs?_encoding=UTF8&tf=1
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I loved it!
I posted a 5-star review, which I think captured what I liked about it:
Headline: Remarkably subtle and layered
I'm an adult and I found myself going backward and forward, tracing the various threads and layers of meaning and trends. My first read it seemed moralistic, but each subsequent read revealed the richness of the characters, their choices, the focus on meaning transcending material, the meaning of the piggy banks, and so on. You could read this with a child dozens of times, each time finding new messages.
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YES Joshua!
This was what I was hoping to be captured!
Simplified messaging for children with undercurrents that all generations may appreciate.
Easily 6-9 months I agonized over minutia.
(also, made it to #50 this morning!)
Thank you!
What is the ethical implications of re-posting reviews on one's personal site, on updated slip-covers, etc? Of linking to the posters personal works?
(and at some point, may I do so with you?)
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Thank you!
I tried to describe what I read and would be valuable for potential readers trying to decide on what book to buy. You had to do the work of creating something worth describing.
What is the ethical implications of re-posting reviews on one's personal site, on updated slip-covers, etc? Of linking to the posters personal works?
(and at some point, may I do so with you?)
The interests of everyone relevant seem aligned: the reviewer chose to write a review so wants it read, the author wants to sell the book, and so does the vendor.
Please feel free too. If you can link to my site or mention the two books I wrote, all the better.
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@Kem I bought this book today. Looking forward to reading it!
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Thanks @solon - feel free to take the gloves off - I'm working on the direct follow-up and criticism is most welcome :). I hope you enjoy and know of some younglings who may benefit.