Adventures with Amazon Central

[This article is reprinted from the Laurel L. Russwurm, Author blog.]

When you decide to self publish, it’s important to be as visible as possible. This is a big part of why I am all over the Internet, and why I’ve just set up my “Author Page” on Amazon Central. Unfortunately the Amazon page is a rigidly set up form that limits what and how authors can share our information.

Possibly the most ironic part of the experience was where the page offers the new user an opportunity to view a “sample” page. What displays is Frank McCourt’s Author Page, which demonstrates where the author photo will sit, as well as showing off Frank’s nice black & white title banner. In creating my own banner, I even made sure to use the exact dimensions of Frank’s banner.

My own black and white author banner, with my gravatar alongside my name written in white letters against a black field

The problem is that while my author photograph rests on the left just like Frank’s, alas, there is no way for me to upload my own black and white name banner to Amazon Central, nor any means of creating one on the site. It is possible such banners used to be allowed, but since that is not the case now, Frank’s page does not provide a true example of how an Amazon Central Author Page will look.

Another difficulty was having a limited space for the biography without knowing what the limit was, exactly. The limit is not screen real estate; it makes no difference whether your words are squished together in a single paragraph or spread out in airy paragraphs. The limit is probably by word or character count, but it required trial and error and tinkering to ensure mine ended where I wanted it to. You can exceed the limit but then are left with only an exerpt, not the best way to make an introduction.

The “Upcoming Events” segment had its issues as well. Naturally I intended to add my participation in NaNoWriMo 2013. While the form allows this, but automatically fills in the venue information with the physical address of the NaNo HQ. My participation will be taking place online, not in California. I can see this being a problem for me forever, since the address for the venue for many of my own events will be “online.” Altering the form to allow the inclusion of a URL as an address would be very helpful.

My last problem is that the section requires an Amazon published book title. While I can understand why Amazon would like to encourage this, NaNoWriMo isn’t an event for selling books that are already written, but to encourage the writing of new novels. Including the name of my debut novel was not really appropriate here, but is required by the form, so I was torn between not making use of the space or including information that isn’t quite right. I’m still trying to come up with a way to make it work.

Beyond these glitches, my page came out fine. 🙂

litter liner

Toronto Green Bin
Way back when I first became a cat owner, I disliked the fact that plastic cat litter boxes retain odors. So I was very happy to discover plastic litter liners, which were drawstring plastic bags used to line the box. When the litter needs changing, you just pulled the string and put it in the trash. Voila!

But that was years ago. These days, “disposable” plastic is my last choice since it doesn’t break down very well. Then my community introduced the “green bin” program so cat litter could join compostables rather than laying inert in plastic bags in the landfill.

But what about plastic litter liners?

Was there something bio-degradable? For a while I had been spending money buying doggy doo-doo bags made from cornstarch, because they were supposed to be biodegrable, even though they looked like plastic. My husband tried composting one of the bags in our back yard composter, but a year later, it hadn’t broken down at all. So I don’t have much faith in “compostable” cornstarch plastic bag replacements. So replacing plastic bags with something just as bad is no help at all.

But paper is biodegradable, so a thick paper bag — like a leaf bag — would be just the thing. I tried very hard to find litter pan liners made from paper, but even my local specialty pet store had never heard of such a thing. That left me no choice but to make my own. I decided to start with a paper leaf bag. Here in Ontario you can get these in grocery and hardware stores. I found the hardware store bags more durable.

Leaf Bag Make-Over → Litter Liner

Cutting off the top of a paper leaf bag

Step 1: CUT the top off leaving the bag about twice as high as the litter pan.

topless paper leaf bag

Ppaer bag with the top folded over

Step 2: FOLD over the top, so it is about half again as tall as the litter pan.

Fold again

Step 3: FOLD AGAIN a little more loosely this time.  This makes a bit of a lip that can be shaped to fit the sides of the pan.

Folded bag

an extra layer

Step 4: CUT an extra piece from the paper that was cut off the top

Place paper bag in Litter Box

 Step 5: LINE THE BOTTOM of the bag for additional leak protection

Litter inside paper liner inside covered litter box

Step 6: ADD LITTER and the Litter Box Cover  if any.

When it’s time to change the litter, remove the litter box cover, and

Unfold the sides and roll the top down for disposal

Step 7: UNFOLD the sides of the bag and ROLL THE TOP TOGETHER

to keep the litter inside, then dispose of the bag in the green bin.

Green Bin photo from Wikipedia shared by NotYouHaha with a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

rose

.white rose

I like this because it is not perfect.

My neighbour is constantly beheading flowers that don’t meet her rigorous standards, or ripping something or other out of her flower beds. I think roses are beautiful, even when they are damaged or past their prime. Perfection is overated.

doll house

doll house front

Several years ago I built this durable doll house to barbie doll scale. The wood was largely bits and pieces I had laying about in my workshop.

bathroom

The bathtub feet are wooden beads; the mirror is a picture frame with silver foil paper inside. I used baker’s clay to mold the bathtub and sinks, and there’s a nice detail shot in the baker’s clay article. .

Bedroom

The wall paper and matching curtains came out of wallpaper books I got from small decorating store. The curtains were hung on craft dowels.

Living Room
A woven placemat became the livingroom carpet; a framed greeting card became the artwork.

Front Door
Picture hanging hooks served as the coat hooks beside the front door, as well as the front door handles.

Kitchen Sink detail

Miscellaneous fasteners and L-hooks became taps and faucets.

kitchen

Scraps from my own kitchen curtain were used for the main floor curtains.
opening the front door

I would have loved this when I was a kid.

the back of the doll house

I made it up as I went along, and it was great fun figuring it out and making it.

baker’s clay like Mom used to make

baker's clay fish ornamentI especially loved this clay my mom used to make for us. What I remember most was making miniature food… teeny tiny hamburgers and hot dogs for my barbie dolls. Because the finished product had been baked hard, it was firm enough to play with.

how to make it

colour
This recipe produces white clay. If you want the clay coloured, you can add food coloring (or sugarless Kool-Aid) in the water when making the clay. (Our hamburger buns were yellow, the patties red.)

creation
Mix together

  • 2 cups baking soda and
  • 1 cup cornstarch in a saucepan.
  • Add 1 1/4 cups cold water

and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 10 – 15 minutes. You know its done when it reaches the consistency of squishy mashed potatoes.
[note: if cooked too long, the creations you make may crack.]

Scrape the mixture out of the pan and onto a plate, then cover it with a damp cloth. Once it’s cool enough to handle, pat it until smooth.

baker's clay gingerbread cookie ornamentsculpt it
You can form this clay into shapes as you would with any other play dough.

cut it out
Or you can place it on a sheet of waxed paper, placing another on top, then roll it our with a rolling pin, to a thickness of about a centimeter (or 3/4 of an inch). Remove the waxed paper and then you can cut it into shapes with cookie cutters. Use a toothpick to poke a hole for hanging, making sure it’s not too close to the edge..

storage
While working with it, the unused clay can be kept under the damp cloth. For longer storage, put the remaing dough in a tightly sealed bag or air-tight container in the refrigerator where it will last for at least a week.

processing
Place your creations on a non-aluminum cookie sheet or tinfoil and bake in a preheated oven at the lowest setting for 30 minutes.  Turn oven off, leaving the cookie sheet inside for another hour or two.  Depending on the thickness of the clay, it may take another day or two before it is absolutely dry all the way through.

Although I usually bake this clay, for thicker sculptures it is best to leave them to air dry on a wire rack for a few days. I have also been told you can microwave your decorations on a paper towel, at 30 seconds per side, turning them until completely dry.

baker's clay star .... decorated with crayonn_8087

decorating
When your creations are dry, they can be painted with just about any craft paints (tempera, acrylic etc) or coloured with markers or crayons.

You can use a craft paint sealer, varathane  or even clear nail polish to varnish for a hard sheen and greater durability.  (Make sure you have adequate ventilation before using nail polish or any chemical with a strong odor.  This step is not suitable for small children.)   Glitter, feathers, pom poms etc. can be glued on, with or without varnishing.

what for
We used this most to make Christmas tree decorations, but it can be used to other kinds of wall hangings or small sculptures.

The largest piece I ever made with this was a bathtub for a doll house. I used an oval plastic take-out container as the mold, and coated it with enamel paint to get a nice porcelain bath tub look.

who for
This clay can be useful for anyone. It is great to use with small children because, although not very tasty, it is edible. (For very small children, make sure dried pieces are not small enough to be a choking hazard.)

baker's clay doll house bathtub and sink