The Kindle Scout Campaign

Anyone who knows me knows that I submitted my most recent book, The One I Trust, to Amazon’s Kindle Scout program. For the last thirty days, I have been actively soliciting nominations in hopes of attracting the attention of the editors of Kindle Publishing—the ones who will decide whether or not to offer me a contract.

Getting a lot of nominations does not at all guarantee an offer, but I doubt that very many books get contracts without first getting a lot of nominations. Nominations generally come from the author’s friends/fan base, and from scouters who are browsing the Kindle Scout site, looking for good books to nominate. People who nominate a book that receives a contract receive a free, early copy, and are encouraged to leave reviews. Lots of nominations show Kindle Scout that an author has a lot of support—both from an existing fan base, and from Kindle scouters, who vote because they would like to read it.

I was honored and blessed that my book was in the top 20 (Hot and Trending) every single day of its campaign. The few hours it was not Hot and Trending were the first seven hours after it went live at midnight on November 19^th. Once I woke up and started asking for nominations, my friends and fans came through for me. The visibility of being on the Hot and Trending list brought it to the attention of Kindle scouters, who also nominated it, hoping that it will be published and that they will receive a free copy. All in all, my book’s Kindle Scout page had over 2,600 views and spent 713 hours on the Hot and Trending list.

This morning—the first day since the campaign ended—I received an email from Amazon, stating that I could expect to hear if I will be offered a contract or not within “the next few business days.”

What if I'm not offered a contract??

 

Initially I was unsure whether or not I should submit my book to the Kindle Scout program. It is the first in a series, and therefore a very important book. If accepted, I would lose much of the control I have enjoyed as a self-published author. I would no longer be in charge of pricing, nor would I be able to make changes to my content and cover on a whim. I would not be able to make my book available to readers through other retailers.

On the upside, however, Amazon all but guarantees me thousands of new readers if they offer me a contract. Since they would be giving all of my fans who nominated it a free copy, all of the sales they would generate over the next five years of the contract will essentially be NEW readers—readers who will hopefully enjoy my writing style, and then turn to the Chop, Chop series for more.

Since I was unsure whether or not to pursue a contract with Kindle Publishing, I prayed. I asked God to close doors if He did not want this to be the path that I went down. And then I gave it everything I had. I had the book professionally edited by my awesome editor, Barbie Halaby, I had her edit the promotional material required for the campaign, and I asked you all for your nominations and support.

 

If I’m not offered a contract, it won’t be because I didn’t try. It won't be because The One I Trust isn't an excellent book. It won’t be because my friends and fans let me down. It won’t be because my first series doesn’t have an astounding track record, proving my value as an author.

 

Quite simply, if I’m not offered a contract, it will be because Amazon is looking for something else at this time, and it will be because God has something else in mind for me.

Many people have asked where they can get a copy ofThe One I Trust. If Kindle Publishing accepts my book, I suspect it will be available by early spring. If they don’t accept my book, I’m going to share it with you as soon as possible—hopefully by the first of the year.

Win-win, either way . . . right?? No matter what, I am blessed to be a writer, blessed to be able to share my work with you, and blessed to have your support. I truly do thank each of you from the bottom of my heart.

Robin Williams

This week, Robin Williams' widow said that his autopsy results  revealed that the talented actor and comedian suffered from a disease known as Lewy body Dementia (LBD), also known as Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), diffuse Lewy body disease, cortical Lewy body disease, and senile dementia of Lewy type

My father also suffered from this disease, but—like Robin Williams—it was not properly diagnosed until after his death. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease twelve years before his death. Much later, he was also diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy as an additional disease on top of his Parkinson's. It turns out that he had neither.

When my mother died, Dad came to live with me and my family. In addition to mobility issues, he suffered from well-formed, visual hallucinations. Often they were relatively harmless. Little people. Cats. Some things troubled him: he was convinced that a man was living in his car, stealing his quarters or that there were people in the backyard who needed our help. Other hallucinations were truly horrifying . . . ones that I won't get into at this time.

There wasn’t a lot of info on the Internet back then, but after doing some research, I at one point asked my father’s neurologist if he could possibly have Lewy body dementia. The doctor didn’t think so and felt that his hallucinations were cause by one of the many meds he was on for Parkinson’s.

Dad went through two brain surgeries for Parkinson’s (which, remember, he didn’t have) and received two implants. Electrodes ran from his brain to his chest where battery packs were located and where adjustments could be made to change the signals being sent to his brain. His neurologist noted that Dad was his only Parkinson's patient who hadn’t see much benefit from the surgeries. Now, of course, we know why.

After his death I donated his brain to CurePSP (the other disease he was diagnosed with that he didn't have). It cost $1,000 to have his brain donated, but in exchange I would receive a comprehensive report of their findings. My father’s doctor (after Dad’s death) found the money to cover that expense for me as he cared about my father a lot and was interested in the results, too.

When he called to give me the results, I could tell that Dad’s doctor was surprised. Likely, he also felt bad that he hadn’t diagnosed Dad properly, but in the long run it didn't really matter since there's nothing that can be done for it.

I would also like to state here that I never faulted Dad's neurologist. He was a caring doctor who always did what he could for my dad and our family. He was intelligent and educated. I just think that Lewy Body wasn't as considered back then as it perhaps is now. I think he also had another reason why he felt Dad didn't have Lewy Body, but it's been almost fifteen years since I had that conversation with him and I can't remember his reasoning. I just wanted to throw in there that his neurologist was great, even though he didn't get the diagnosis right. The article described diagnosing and treating this disease like playing a game of Whack-A-Mole. I always said it's like turning off the lights, throwing a dart, then turning the lights back on and seeing how close you got, then turning them off and trying again. There are no easy answers.

I am thankful that Robin Williams’ widow has gone public with this information. Even though Lewy Body Dementia is the second leading cause of dementia, most people (including many doctors) still have never heard of it.

Although I never say so in any of the books in the Chop,Chop series, this is what Natalie's father suffered from. Readers may remember that—like my father—he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, but suffered from hallucinations. What Natalie went through with her father, I went through with mine. In Alone, Annabeth’s experiences also came from what I encountered with my father.

If you are the caretaker for someone suffering from any kind of dementia, I would recommend the book The 36-Hour Day. Although it’s geared specifically toward the care of Alzheimer’s patients, I found some valuable information in it (and Tanner in Alone utilized some of the same techniques I learned from that book—both when he worked at the nursing home with Annabeth, and then later when he was caring for David).

If you know someone who has dementia or who is caring for someone who does, they need your support and your prayers.

A GLIMPSE OF GREG

A GLIMPSE OF GREG

(Spoilers abound in the post below, so please don’t continue until you’ve read Chop, Chop FREE!)

My characters are very real to me—often more real to me than actual people. I know what is going on inside of every character’s head—what motivates them, what scares them, and how they really feel despite what their actions might show. (I don't know that kind of stuff about real people!)

Greg only appears in two books: Chop, Chop and Alone. He seems perfect to David and Tanner who tell us their stories (and we only catch a glimpse of the fact that he was not when Samantha complains to David in Pon,Pon that Greg was never nice to her and that she gets tired of hearing how nice he was to everyone).

So—since I know everything about Greg—I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into what was going on in his head. Greg’s Bible has already made an appearance in several books in the Chop, Chop series and it’s getting ready to pop up again in my new series, but the comments and notes Greg wrote that you may see will only give you small pieces of who he was.

Greg tried very, very hard to seek God’s will for his life and to do what God wanted him to do. When he first moved to Cavendish he was very attracted to Laci—especially attracted to who she was as a person. Laci, meanwhile, was trying to accept the fact that God wanted her to be with David—a person with whom she was not particularly enamored.

When Greg asked Laci to the dance, she immediately said "Yes." Her belief that God could talk to her and tell her that she was supposed to be with David was wavering. She was more than willing to believe that she’d heard wrong and that God really wanted her to be with somebody else.

As you remember, one day she reluctantly told Greg that God had spoken to her when she was little and told her that she was supposed to be with David. Greg instantly recognized that God was working in Laci’s life and encouraged her to continue listening to Him and trusting Him. He continued encouraging her in this way until he died.

But what you don’t know is that Greg himself was not very happy with this situation. He loved Laci and it was difficult for him to continually deny himself and put God first. (Yeah, I know—you didn’t really want to hear that there was a third guy in love with Laci, but there ya go!)

Greg dated Natalie some, but to him it was never serious. He was sure that God had someone lined up for him down the road that would be perfect for him, and he was anxious for college to start because he figured it was likely that this was where he was going to meet this someone special. He envisioned a day when this woman (who was going to be perfect for him and with whom he was going to be so in love) spend their lives together (and periodically get together with his dear friends, David and Laci).

Greg also worried about Natalie’s feelings. He sensed that she felt much more strongly about him than he did about her, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He prayed a lot for that situation to come to a resolution without Natalie being hurt. At the time of his death, it was one of the things that he was most concerned about.

After I’d written Chop, Chop, I came across a nonfiction book entitled: I Would Die For You. (You can read the review I wrote for this book by clicking here.) The book is about BJ Higgins—a young man who (like our fictitious Greg) died while he was only a teen. And—also like Greg—BJ tried to put God first in everything that he did.

Unfortunately, this book is not available in eBook format, but I hope you will consider checking it out. If nothing else, you could ask your library to order it and then you could literally check it out! To critics of Chop, Chop who say that the character of Greg was too unrealistic, I would encourage them to read I Would Die For You and learn more about BJ Higgins.

Not sure how this turned into a commercial for another book, but if I’m going to blog more frequently (new goal!!) I’m going to have to be a little more stream-of-consciousness and a little less perfectionist!!

Before I go, don't forget to follow me on Facebook and to sign up for my email list to be notified of new releases and giveaways!! I promise not to flood you with junk email, but important stuff will be coming via email soon!!

God’s blessings to each of you! <3

L.N. Cronk