Concerning A Link To The Book

[tex]

Sheila,

I apologize. You have the first version, and it's full of problems, because after I uploaded the printed book, I took Kindle Digital Publishing's word that my files would work without the need of any formatting changes, and that's obviously incorrect. I'm hoping that you can download an improved copy when I get it finished (hopefully sometime tomorrow).

If anyone else is contemplating buying a digital version, please wait a couple of days, to give me time to get all the formatting and navigational problems corrected. The updated version will have links that work correctly for the table of contents, live links for all internet addresses, etc., and hopefully all the extraneous page numbers and misplaced words and large blocks of blank sections will be gone. The conversion software they use for converting uploaded DOC files to HTML files for digital display leaves a lot to be desired, because it introduces all sorts of corruptions because of the page breaks and page numbering system in a conventional PDF or DOC book file.

I decided to try doing my own converting of my text file to HTML (to get around their conversion problems), and I'm about half through adding the navigational aids and necessary formatting changes, and then I'll try to upload it when it's finished. Hopefully by Sunday it will be available online, and working properly.

For anyone who bought the first version of the Kindle book, if Amazon won't let you download an upgraded version (after it's finished), please PM me or email me and I will be happy to refund your money so that you can buy the improved version, because it will be much, much easier to use, and all the references will have live links so that all you have to do is click on them to instantly go to the selected site on the internet.

Tex

[carolm]

Tex, I agree that you should provide a link to the book. The ads that you want to keep from our site would more than likely not be helpful products. They would be the equivalent of spam. This is not the case with your book. It's relevant and helpful....I say provide a link so others know the option is there.

Carol

[Gloria]

I agree with everyone else - you should put a link to the book here. I purchased several books looking for information prior to finding this website. Most people with MC are desperate for answers, and your book will be a tremendous resource.

Gloria

[tex]

Gloria, (and anyone else),

It's been suggested that I should include a link in a post in the "Welcome to Newbies" section. I wonder what percentage of newbies will actually see it there. Would you have found it when you were new here? I get the impression that only a small percentage of newbies actually read that information.

Or should I put a thumbnail image of the cover on the index page. The image can serve as a live link to a description of the book, etc. Of course, that's much more obtrusive than a description and a link hidden in a post somewhere in one of the forums, but I would think that a much higher percentage of newbies would notice it there.

One possibility would be to place it on the right side of the index page to balance out the Potty People Logo. Or it could be located at the bottom of the page, near the visitors map.

Or do you feel that including a link in a post somewhere in the "Welcome to Newbies" section is the best location for it.

Tex

[wmonique2]

Tex,

I would put it in more than one place. At the Newbies for sure, at the top near logo, wherever it is visible and accessible to us and others.

Monique

[Sheila]

Tex, I also think it should be in two places. Somewhere at the top, right side to balance Potty People logo as you suggest, and on the newbies page. I remember looking at the newbies page very briefly. At that point, I didn't know where to look and/or what to look for. The book is such a tremendous resource, it's placement should be prominent and obvious. There is no comparison between your book and the others I've read that only touch on MC tangentially.

Sheila W

[Gloria]

Tex,

The most irritating thing about ads on websites isn't the ad per se. It's that the page takes a long time to load all the graphics; sometimes a sound track starts playing immediately, and then there are the pop-ups. I don't think your ad will have any of those annoying features.

I think it should be at the top of the page opposite the Potty People graphic. Since the top part of the page appears on every page as a header, people should eventually see it.

You could also put a link in the Newbie section. We don't have any statistics to tell us how many people view the Newbie section, so it's hard to know how many will see it there.

Gloria

[carolm]

I read the Newbie section, FWIW. I had some specific questions after that and I didn't know how to work the search back then, but I did read the section of information for Newbie's.

Carol

[tex]

Thanks again everyone,

Good point Gloria, I agree that the agonizing, slow-loading graphics and some of the other unnecessary fluff are the worst part of many ads. I'll definitely avoid that.

I'll see if I can figure out the HTML code needed to add that, and I'll try to set it up later today. I appreciate everyone's input.

Thanks,
Tex

[coryhub]

Hi Tex,
I like your original vision for the cover but can understand they wanted to keep it simple. We are like trees with leaves fallen off and then we make some progress and start to get buds and leaves again once we find the right mixture for our roots.
Cory

[Martha]

I'll chime in and add my voice for having a link to your book, preferably taking us right to where we can buy it or at least read the blurb.

When I googled the book, nothing came up until I went to Amazon.com and hunted for it there.

Thanks for writing the book, Tex. You are such a great help to all of us.

Martha

[tex]

I added links to the "Welcome to Newbies" section this morning. I experimented with adding a link to the header, but I still need to fiddle with the code a little to get it right. I'll try that again when traffic is light.

Thanks,
Tex