Cockies, and Parrots and Lories Galore.

Now I promised absolutely ages ago that I would post my Cocky piccies (I told you Aussies like to finish every second word with a “ie” or “y” didn’t I?).

Well first I had the great internet rationing debacle. Then I had a couple of late meetings at work. Then when I got home last night my computer just wouldn’t boot up properly.
Four hours later I got it working but by then it was my bed time so no post.

So I am very sorry but the cockies went on the back burner (poor things, it must have been uncomfortably hot).
Now finally I will post as I promised except I have just one more thing to say.

Several bloggers have passed awards to me in recent weeks. I have to hang my head in shame and say I just haven’t had time to pass them on, but will try to do the right thing in the next couple of weeks.

Now for the birds.

On that lovely day when we visited the Maroondah Reservoir I caught some birds with my camera.

I’ll just slip this Kookaburra in. No he/she is not a parrot (Kookaburras are kingfishers) and I have promised parrots. But what the heck?The kookaburra looks a bit shorter than in real life but I was standing almost directly below a high lamp post to get this shot, but his shot gives a reasonable idea of their look.

Now finally we come to the parrots.

There were a flock of gloriously sweet sulphur crested cockatoos picking up seeds from the grass.These guys are a popular pet/cage bird right around the world but they are native to Oz.

In the Maroondah Reservoir park they are very used to people so I was able to get close enough to get some lovely shots.

This cocky sat and watched me for a bit before having a casual scratch.These two were very snugglish, I guess they may be a mated pair.As a by the way I should say that a “Cocky” is not only a bird it is also an Aussie slang term for a farmer. So a “cow cocky” here is pretty much the same thing as a “rancher” in the USA.

This fellow fluffed up his feathers which gave me a fantastic opportunity to catch some wonderful definition of his feathers.The cockies’ amazingly powerful beaks can tear chunks out of dry timber boards.Yet with their beak and thumb-like tongue they can delicately pick up or manipulate small objects such as seeds.Hanging back from the cockies was this king parrotI love the contrast between the glossy green and scarlet on these guys.

Also in the background of the king parrot shot, and unusually shy, were some rainbow lorikeets.

I’ve included this shot to remind people of just why they are called “rainbow” lorikeets.

Self Publishing: a Review.

A while ago I mentioned I received a copy of The Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Publishing for Profit! by Christy Pinheiro of The Publishing Maven

This book has raised all sorts of issues for me. I am more than sick of the grind of trying to get my work published using the “traditional” method. I have wondered about self publishing before. I have also put a modicum of effort into researching the possibility of self publishing through Lulu and BookSurge. I have even looked at Lightning Source

Christy’s book injects Amazon’s CreateSpace into the mix. The cost per copy with Create Space seems much more reasonable than Lulu. Also you gain the benefit of automatic listing with Amazon.

With self publishing marketing seems to be pretty much up to an author’s ability to push themselves. But then again it seems that most “orthodox” publishers seem to leave most of the marketing up to authors these days.

I’ve had my manuscript copyedited a couple of times. I’ve also produced an OK cover for the fun of it.

So in theory I could put it all together as a self published book in a fairly short period of time. Marketing would remain my biggest problem.
Damn it would be nice if it was all easy!

Anyway I have put up a review of Christy’s book on Amazon and include it below:

Title: The Step-By-Step Guide to Self-Publishing For Profit!
Author: C. Pinheiro (co-authored with Nick Russell)
ISBN: 978-0982266007
Publisher: Pineapple Publications

Christy Pinheiro and her co-author Nick Russell have produced a very handy guide to beginning a self publishing business. As the title suggests, the book outlines a series of steps to establish a profitable publishing business. The book works as a practical guide for beginners in the industry.

The book can be roughly broken into three sections, each covering a different aspect of self publishing. The first few chapters cover the basics such as: avoiding vanity publishers; the rudiments of establishing a business; and preparing the best possible manuscript by using services like copy editors. The next section deals with: the specifics of publishing using Amazon’s CreateSpace; it also briefly looks at other services such as Lulu.com. Nick Russell apparently uses Ingram’s Lighting Source for the majority of his own business. The third section deals with marketing a self published book and developing an income using the internet. Potentially the most valuable section of the book, it looks at various strategies. A myriad of examples are given including: using Amazon’s features; seeking book reviews; promotion using blogging; establishing a promotional website; and generating income using Google’s AdWords and Amazon’s affiliate program.

From a personal perspective, I found Christy’s book informative and helpful. This book has restimulated my interest in exploring self publishing, despite the fact that Christy specifically suggests self publishing works best for non-fiction. The only section of the book that had no direct relevance to me (as an Aussie) was some technical material on registering a business in the US and record keeping for US tax purposes.

Finally as this book produced by POD, a brief word about the book’s physical characteristics is worthwhile. I was impressed by the overall quality of the book. The paper is of good quality. The printing is excellent throughout with no technical errors or problems such as bleed. The cover is full colour and printed to a standard equivalent to any retail book. The only slight quibble I would voice is that the cardstock used in the cover would benefit from being a slightly heavier weight.

P.S.
Christy has just posted that BookSurge and CreateSpace have been merged by Amazon.

And finally.
A male King Parrot I snapped him up near Badger Creek a few weeks ago. A lot of Australian parrots are fairly easy to photograph, they seem to be curious about what you are doing.

This guy was so relaxed about my presence he took some time out to preen before flying off.