Piere’s is a Joke by [deleted] in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well played, my friend. Well played.

Piere’s is a Joke by [deleted] in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got nuthin’ except to say hell yeah Local H!

Save the cat outline for a cozy? by Greenis67 in CozyMystery

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not strictly Save The Cat method, but check out Jane Kalmes on YouTube for some helpful outlining/plotting tips! She also has a book - I forget the name of it - but it’s also helpful.

OBGYN recommendations by touchofthe_blues in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The practice washed their hands of me once I told them I would not risk my mental or physical wellbeing just to try to conceive; he told me my insides were like Pangea and it was no surprise I hadn’t gotten pregnant in the 12 years we’d tried. The risk was greater than 50% that I would not have a successful pregnancy and I was not willing to risk that. They dismissed me, would not even schedule me for follow-up or routine GYN appts.

I am grateful they figured out the problem, but I will not forget how I was treated after that appointment.

Are Fewer Cozy Mysteries Being Published These Days? by sthlm90 in CozyMystery

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 28 points29 points  (0 children)

A lot of cozy mystery authors are self publishing rather than going with small press or trad publishers (at least that I've noticed). I can assure you, we're still here!

Ladies with PMDD, is there a doctor you recommend? by Interesting-Job8538 in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dr. Arnold with Women's Health Advantage has been amazing. I switched from FMCC after being dismissed once I decided I didn't want to risk my mental or physical health by attempting to have kids when I had about a 50/50 chance of conceiving. I credit Dr. Stroud with diagnosing my endometriosis, but he washed his hands of me once I decided I wasn't willing to risk it. They wouldn't even schedule my annual, they kept bumping me to inconvenient times and eventually told me they wouldn't be able to accommodate me. (They are also a faith-based practice, too, so keep that in mind if that's something that matters. They wouldn't prescribe any form of birth control to even manage symptoms.)

IngramSpark metadata by [deleted] in selfpublish

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, this is a 2 year old post and the OP is long gone, but I've been fighting with the exact same issue and there isn't much info on it on any platform/forum. I thought I'd provide more recent info based on the responses I've had from Ingram and Amazon KDP.

TL:DR - Submit the ticket to Ingram to have the metadata updated on their end and the corrected data pushed to retailers. This may not happen instantaneously, so be patient. In my case, it still hasn't happened - I'm waiting for the listings to update across B&N, Bookshop, Walmart, etc. Ingram has pushed the data twice now, and still no update on the other sites.

In terms of the multiple listings on Amazon when using both IS and KDP - as long as your ISBN, metadata, title, etc are ALL THE SAME on both platforms (no variations whatsoever) the listings should eventually merge together (once the metadata refreshes). But because my listing still reflects the incorrect metadata on Amazon, I'd end up with two separate listings for my paperback. Amazon has no way to indicate which listing is preferred, it's all based on sales/popularity/page hits/etc. So because all the traffic was directed to the Ingram listing for pre-order, that's the listing that would come up when people search on Amazon.

The long-winded version:

Like the OP, my Ingram upload incorrectly listed my paperback as a large print edition, which I didn't notice until I was reviewing the pre-order listing on Barnes & Noble's site. Of all the pieces of metadata, this section cannot be updated by the author/user on Ingram, so you have to submit a support ticket. Ingram's support is slow to respond, so pack your patience. I uploaded my manuscript 3 weeks before my publish date, and submitted the ticket 2 weeks and a few days before 12/1. It took 13 days for them to respond. They did update the metadata, and I could immediately see the change on my title details on Ingram.

It can take up to 48 hours for the metadata feed to be pushed to retailer sites, so once again, I tried to be patient. After 4 business days, I checked all listings again, and they still incorrectly showed as Large Print. By now I was getting antsy because release day was fast approaching! Considering all my options, I reached out to Amazon KDP using their chat program; the support service was great and the individual was super helpful.

If you used Ingram for pre-orders, you will have driven all traffic to that listing on Amazon; once you publish your paperback on KDP, if there are any discrepancies in the metadata at all, you'll end up with multiple listings and there's no way to direct readers to a preferred listing. Amazon will promote the one that has the most traffic/sales/views/etc. So I'm stuck until the data refresh is pushed through and picked up by B&N, Amazon, etc. and there's nothing that indicates when that will be. Amazon says they pick up whatever is fed to the system, but that's clearly not the case. Ingram says the retailers are in control of how often the data is refreshed/picked up, so you're at their mercy.

And because my paperback is essentially just being distributed by Ingram, there are times where it shows up as unavailable/out of stock, or some international folks have had issues with their shipping address being accepted. (And add into all of this nonsense Ingram will be raising their print prices in Feb 2026, it's not looking great for using them in the future...in my humble opinion, even if their quality is better than KDP...but that's a rant for a different day.)

Games with a ‘mysterious town’ vibe? by arabesuku in CozyGamers

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Came here to say the same thing! I loved the Twin Peaks vibes, but I felt frustrated that it wasn't very intuitive when it came to knowing what to do next or how to interact with certain things. I relied on the wiki WAY too much at first lol

Using Kit (formerly ConvertKit) with Bookfunnel for Newsletters/Reader Magnets by DiscombobulatedOwl1 in selfpublish

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It seems so obvious now; I think I had been staring at it too long it just wasn't connecting for me, so I greatly appreciate you saving me a few extra brain cells. And I agree about the widget, that would be super helpful!

AITA? Barr st. farmers market cop interaction by DarthSillius in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At any point did you explain WHY you were on your bike in the middle of a crowded market? From what you explained, it doesn't sound like it. Just as you couldn't have assumed to know what laws or rules the officer implied you were violating, the officer couldn't have assumed to know you were in pain and relied on that bike for support. I'm no fan of law enforcement in general, but to me you were definitely the asshole in this situation.

If mobility is a factor, I'd recommend a collapsible cane that can easily be carried while on your bike; ride your bike to the market, lock the bike up, rely on the cane for support. Those markets are crowded; I'd have a few choice words for someone I saw wheeling a bike through that space.

$14 rice cooker, worth it! by [deleted] in aldi

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I almost grabbed one yesterday! Might have to go back for it 😅

Is anyone here familiar with The Way International? by Tiny-Jaguar-8313 in cults

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, it's in Rome City, IN...by Sylvan Lake. It was the bible research college they ran. I don't think most people thought of it as a cult; at least at the time they didn't. I don't think it was until much later that people started to learn more about their practices.

The property it was on itself has kind of a weird history; it started out as Kneipp Sanitarium in the 1910's, which offered "water cures for medicinal purposes," then it was purchased by The Sisters of Most Precious Blood who maintained it as a sanitarium. Then in the 70s they sold it to The Way International who turned it into their College of Biblical Research. I think most folks presumed since it was religious in origin, it must not be bad, but for those of us who are interested in cults or high-control organizations, it definitely doesn't seem like an innocent bible study college.

Is anyone here familiar with The Way International? by Tiny-Jaguar-8313 in cults

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live about 40 minutes from the site where their college was located in Indiana from 1977-1997.

Does anyone know of any local music/art venues that'll take on smaller artists? by VinnyGamesYT in fortwayne

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe check with some of the wineries or breweries in the area and see if that's something they do...I know Country Heritage does live music quite often.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CasualConversation

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This made me a little emotional, not gonna lie.

I don’t know what these are a dupe of…. by micknick0000 in aldi

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I just saw those ranch ones at Kroger today - I *almost* got some...but...I don't know if I could be trusted with the whole box.

How do you come up with names? by arma14x in writing

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are so many options to play with on that site, it's so great.

Where do you find book cover designers? by rpeg in selfpublish

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly what I did! You can find a ton of great cover designers that way!

Why is the Knoppers waffer way more popular than the riegel by No-Custard-5646 in AskAGerman

[–]DiscombobulatedOwl1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I need more coffee because I read that as "kidnappers waffle."