Common Strata Plants: A Guide for West Coast Landscapers
As senior supervisor I train new landscapers all year as they join our company. We cover safety, machines and, of course, plant identification skills.
Usually, it’s a struggle just to cover machine use safely and then at the required speeds. But as the worker stays on and develops, plant ID slowly filters in.
E-book idea
After answering the same questions about common strata plants, over and over, it occurred to me that I could put together a simple picture file and give it to all new employees. And this would also allow me to test out Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing system. I still can’t believe how easy it is in 2017 to self-publish e-books and on-demand paperbacks.
Step 1
Rule number one, all pictures had to be my own to avoid any copyright hassles. After that, it was a matter of creating a basic plant list that new strata landscape maintenance workers would find useful. It would be a subjective list and not exhaustive. The main idea was to expose people to plants they would see on almost every site.
This idea works because strata plantings must fit into our mostly acidic soil conditions. And trust me, there is a lot of repetition in our plantings. Yes, it sounds boring but if your goal is to learn basic plant species you will smile ear to ear. The repetition works in our favour.
Step2
In step 1 we generated a picture file and saved it in .pdf format. Then in step 2 we download Amazon’s free beta program called Kindle Create. Open the software and upload your .pdf file.
Then use preview to check your work. If you’re happy with it, click on package. This generates a tidy package file for upload at Kindle Direct Publishing.
Step 3
Register for Kindle Direct Publishing and upload your package file. Then run through the other steps like author name and royalties, etc. Normally it takes Amazon less than 72 hours to process your e-book and launch it live.
Now I just need some new employees willing to browse through the pictures and rate the e-book well on Amazon. Perhaps I can cut their mowing demands in exchange for good reviews.
Right now is a great time to self-publish your work. Whatever it is. My goal is to have well-trained workers on our sites. If one or two e-books can help them, even better.
Common Strata Plants: A Guide for West Coast Landscapers
Thank you for discussing your encounter.