Melinda C.

(Let me first provide a short list of my specific knowledge and skills: KF8, EPUB 3, Html5, CSS3, Adobe InDesign CS5, Adobe Photoshop CS5.1, Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Kindlegen 2, Sigil, GIMP, Bluefish, and Wordpress 3.1.) Twenty-nine percent of all adults in the United States today own either a tablet or another e-reading device. In 2011, total printed book sales fell by more than 9.5%, double the loss from 2010. And eBook sales this year are predicted to double, at least. The publishing industry is in upheaval. Things are changing so fast--large publishers going out of business, small desktop publishers appearing and disappearing, print booksellers closing stores while self-published eBooks begin to hit bestseller lists (to the shock and dismay of many large traditional publishing houses). Book publishing is changing so wildly, no one can predict for sure what is going to happen. Publishers and literary agencies are scrambling to keep up, and many authors themselves are uncertain and intimidated by these sweeping, transformative changes. It's no longer "business as usual," and truthfully, in their heart of hearts, just about everyone involved is a little scared. But in spite of these fears, amazing and rewarding opportunities are arising. It's an exciting time for both writers and readers. While many publishing houses are balking and chewing their fingernails, authors are beginning to step up and take back control. With free self-publishing offered by companies like Amazon, [login to view URL], and Barnes & Noble, writers can circumvent the corporate middle-men who used to stand between them and their readers. Literary innovation has not seen such a burst of popular enthusiasm since the introduction of the paperback book. A new paradigm has emerged, allowing mass creative experimentation. Authors can spread their wings now, and in the end, the readers are the ultimate winners. So many new choices are available to them! And with the introduction of "enhanced" eBooks, music, narration, and even video can be embedded within a book, allowing an entirely new kind of reading experience. But there is one hurdle to jump over--publishing an eBook requires formatting a document file in a very precise way so that it can be read by the Kindle, Nook, and other devices. Different e-readers require different formatting conventions, and performing conversions from one format to another requires technical knowledge and can involve hours of work. And since there is no single, universally-accepted eBook file format, an author has to convert their manuscript to more than one file type in order to take advantage of all available ePublishing marketplaces. Writers lead busy lives, and I know this because my own mother is a multi-published author. A writer often just doesn't have time to devote to menial/repetitive tasks like eBook formatting, and to a creative mind tedium is torture. Poor e-formatting (e.g. blank pages, strange marginal alignment, unneeded paragraph returns, etc.) is a serious and widespread problem. It annoys readers, interrupting their enjoyment of books and leaving them with a bad taste in their mouth. And for many authors, one negative review can tank sales dismally. When someone sees only one star beside the title of your book, they will almost always just skip over it without a thought. So this is where I come in. You send your manuscript to me as a digital file, and I convert it to any format you desire, absolutely perfectly. For certain file formats and for certain devices which support multimedia, I can even add animation, audio or video to your book (if supplied by you). And if you request it, I will upload your eBook for you to the Kindle Store, the Nook Book Store, and/or Smashwords with no extra charge. I'm here to take the headache out of publishing digitally. My goal is to empower writers with what they need to stand strong within this torrent of change. Writers are a precious resource in this crazy world, and I show my appreciation with the quality and integrity of my work. Because I believe that every writer is an artist, and every artist has the power to change the world.