Getting you started on outdoor adventures

Archive for December, 2012

Chino High grad is now author

By Matt Santos. Published 12/19/12 in the Chino Valley Review.

From spooky campfire stories to cookbooks and travel guides, local author Kimberly Eldredge does it all.

Kim Eldredge, a Chino Valley High School and U of A graduate, has eight e-books online as well as a three-part paperback series, “Scary & Silly Campfire Stories.”

The 1999 Chino Valley High school graduate spent this past Saturday at Kathi’s Books in Chino Valley, signing copies of her paperbacks “Scary & Silly Campfire Stories,” a three-part series based on part fiction and real life adventures.

“Not everybody is interested in the traditional scary campfire stories, so my books are about half scary and half silly,” said Eldredge. “The scary ones have that urban legend feel to them, but some of the silly ones are definitely based on real experiences that I’ve had.”

Eldredge has been writing for as long as she can remember, but really got serious about telling stories when she realized she could make a career out of it.

“I’ve been writing all of my life, but then I realized you could get a degree in writing and how cool is that,” said the University of Arizona graduate.

In addition to her trilogy in paperback, she currently has eight e-books available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, through her web site TheOutdoorPrincess.com and through Amazon.

Her e-book titles include “Easy Camping Recipes From The Outdoor Princess,” “33 Great Camping Recipes,” “Must Know Trout Fishing Tricks, Tips, & Techniques,” and her most recent work published this past week, the sixth edition of “The Flagstaff Snow Guide,” a guide to all things outdoors in the Flagstaff area.

Eldredge recommends her campfire stories series to readers of all ages, but says she gears the writing style to fourth- and fifth-graders. Her advice to young writers?

“Don’t be afraid of it. You can do this,” said Eldredge. “Two, get a good editor, start with your local grammar Nazi or your English teacher. Three, your title and cover are key. You have to have a good title and cover or you won’t sell.”

Eldredge also teaches online e-book publishing classes to help new writers. Information on her classes is available at OnTheBeachPublishing.com/KillerTitles.

Kathi’s Books, located at 318 W Perkinsville Rd., Suite 10, hosts similar book signings and also a readers’ tea party every Tuesday afternoon.

Information on all of Kathi’s Books events is available by calling 928-636-2450 or online at kathisbooks.com or on Facebook.

Kim got her degree in what discipline?

A. Taxes

B. Creative Writing

C. Drawing

D. Spanish

Northern Arizona got our first snow storm of the season.  And that means that it’s time once again to promote my annual Flagstaff Snow Guide. In the past, I’ve offered this as an eGuide on EatStayPlay.com. The only problem with that, is that as much traffic as the website gets, I know that it’s only a fraction of the people who may be heading to Flagstaff to play in the snow.

So, (drum roll please)

I’ve decided to offer this year’s snow guide as an Amazon eBook! You can read it on the Kindle or any variety of free reading applications for PC, Mac or even your smart phone!

The 2012-2013 Flagstaff Snow Guide is available for $2.99!

I’ve been writing and self-publishing books for a while now. I publish eBooks for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. I’ve also been publishing the campfire stories, the “Scary & Silly” series, with a Print-On-Demand publisher.

(Print-on-demand means that when a book is ordered, ONE book is printed at the publishers and is sent directly to the purchaser. No cases of books in my garage!)

Anyway, through the course of this journey, I’ve been approached by a ton of people who want to learn just what it is that I do and how I do it. Most are frustrated or intimidated by the technical aspects of self-publishing or just don’t know where to begin.

And the savvy business owner that I am, I recognized a need that I could help fill. I’ve been teaching classes about how to self-publish for Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. To keep the aspects of my life separate (for newsletters and IRS issues) I’ve started a new company:

On The Beach Publishing, LLC

You can find my new website at OnTheBeachPublishing.com

To jump-start anyone into the self-publishing world, I’m offering a free webinar on 12/18/12 that covers everything you need to know about writing the title of your book. The title is THE most important piece. It’s the first thing people see and how they make their initial buying decision.

You can learn more about the free webinar, and register at OnTheBeachPublishing.com/KillerTitles

The goal of On The Beach Publishing is to teach authors of all types how to easily self-publish and keep more money in their pockets. I’ve spent countless hours, made a ton of mistakes, and spent over $4,000 to learn what I know. And now I want to teach others how to do this too!

I don’t talk about it much on TheOutdoorPrincess.com, but I actually have a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. I spent years NOT writing since I just didn’t want to deal with traditional publishing. I finally realized that I wasn’t happy if I wasn’t writing something — hence my multitudes of blogs, newsletters, and eBooks!

I am still planning on writing here and the other outdoor recreation blogs. And, of course, keep publishing eBooks about outdoor recreation. (Working on the Flagstaff Snow Guide 2012-2013 eBook right now!)

And the best part: check out how EatStayPlay.com lives on in the logos: