Now that the second installment of Shayla’s misadventures is out there, I’m branching out for the first time into some actual promotion.
Yeah, this is new territory for me. The very thought of selling and advertising affects me like fingernails on chalkboards.
A whole screeching symphony of them.
*Shudders*
Nevertheless, it would be nice to see a little interest in my work beyond the occasional sale once in a while, and to do that I need to be more active in my promotional activities. So I’m going to try out a few of the paid promotion sites.
When I started researching this avenue I had no idea how many of them there were out there. Bookbub, probably the best known, is out of my reach just yet. By all accounts they are very picky and expect dozens of reviews on Amazon before they’ll even look at you. I also suspect that some sites are more effective than others in generating sales, and some are to be avoided. I’ve tried to research by reading up on authors’ experiences and looking for some consensus on results.
So far I’ve signed up for an entry in Bargain Booksy later this month, and have submitted to Ereader News Today (which may or may not get accepted). And I’m looking into at least one or two more sites to try over the coming weeks. I’ll let you all know how things turn out.
These kinds of promotions seem to work best when they are associated with a discounted price. My efforts therefore will be directed at Ghosts of Innocence, in the hope that readers who enjoy it might follow on and pick up The Ashes of Home.
Ghosts of Innocence will be reduced from $3.99 to just $0.99 in all e-book markets from mid-April through to mid-June.
Fingers crossed :)
Showing posts with label Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Publishing. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Friday, July 11, 2014
Show those documents who's boss
Continuing from yesterday, on tips for organizing files on your hard drive. I talked a bit about using naming conventions to augment the use of folders. Here are a few more naming tips.
Prefixes
A slightly less structured form of naming, but which can be handy to organize files within a folder, is to use a prefix. In yesterday's example...
...you see each file is prefixed with the book title. This means they will stay together as a group if I drop files from another book into the same folder.
A more subtle technique is to use numbers. I make use of numerical prefixes in two different ways in the following examples.
First, to keep files in sequence while still having a free hand in the rest of the name.
When I draft a novel, I find it hard to work with one large document so I split it up into a dozen or so more manageable files. I give the files names that relate to that section of the novel, but tag on a prefix to sort them into order. I choose to go up in increments of 10 so I can easily slot in new scenes if I need to without renumbering existing files, and I jump up in 100s to show the broad structure of the novel - beginning, middle, and end.
Second, to create a pseudo folder structure when I want a large set of files handy all in one list.
I took this approach in my "Writing planning" folder.
Here I am organizing a mixture of documents of different types in such a way that they can easily be found. I chose ranges of numbers to denote different types of files.
Yes, I could instead have set up sub-folders instead but that would mean another layer to navigate with very few documents in each. Your filing system - your choice.
One added bonus with this concept - it's transferable. I use the same numerical prefix in my mailbox folders, so whenever I see a "202" file or folder anywhere, I know it's a project file that relates to publishing Ghosts.
This example also shows use of a feature on the Mac which allows you to add color to file and folder names. The way I use it here just makes it easier to pick out related blocks of files in the list.
Consistency
If you have a scheme that works for a particular purpose, you might want to repeat and re-use next time you do something similar. My novel folders all follow the same structure, and have many similarities even down to the file level.
Here are equivalent sections from Ghosts of Innocence...
And from Tiamat's Nest...
The similarities mean that when I move from one to another I feel at home and can find everything easily.
Finally...housekeeping
In the examples I've posted here, you may have noticed folders called "Archive" and "Dustbin". I find these useful in keeping my main folders tidy. I create a dustbin for files that I don't need but am reluctant to delete altogether - just in case. Archives are for more deliberate retention, for example I want to keep project documents for future reference while not having them crowd my active folder.
Another housekeeping tip is versioning. I keep back versions of manuscripts, copying the whole set of files into a new folder whenever I embark on a major revision. You can also distinguish versions in your file naming - e.g. "My file v1.doc"
Eventually I'll get around to tidying these up, but these easy tips all help to keep things under control by distinguishing current from old documents.
Prefixes
A slightly less structured form of naming, but which can be handy to organize files within a folder, is to use a prefix. In yesterday's example...
A more subtle technique is to use numbers. I make use of numerical prefixes in two different ways in the following examples.
First, to keep files in sequence while still having a free hand in the rest of the name.
When I draft a novel, I find it hard to work with one large document so I split it up into a dozen or so more manageable files. I give the files names that relate to that section of the novel, but tag on a prefix to sort them into order. I choose to go up in increments of 10 so I can easily slot in new scenes if I need to without renumbering existing files, and I jump up in 100s to show the broad structure of the novel - beginning, middle, and end.
Second, to create a pseudo folder structure when I want a large set of files handy all in one list.
I took this approach in my "Writing planning" folder.
- The 100s are common and persistent planning documents that relate to my writing business as a whole.
- The 200s are reserved for specific projects with each project having its own number. These are only relevant for the life of the project, and there is only one showing in this example, but if I were to work on several at once this prefixing would keep them separate.
- The 300s are research and resources with sub-ranges allocated for different topics. The prefix helps me quickly find, for example, everything related to marketing.
Yes, I could instead have set up sub-folders instead but that would mean another layer to navigate with very few documents in each. Your filing system - your choice.
One added bonus with this concept - it's transferable. I use the same numerical prefix in my mailbox folders, so whenever I see a "202" file or folder anywhere, I know it's a project file that relates to publishing Ghosts.
This example also shows use of a feature on the Mac which allows you to add color to file and folder names. The way I use it here just makes it easier to pick out related blocks of files in the list.
Consistency
If you have a scheme that works for a particular purpose, you might want to repeat and re-use next time you do something similar. My novel folders all follow the same structure, and have many similarities even down to the file level.
Here are equivalent sections from Ghosts of Innocence...
Finally...housekeeping
In the examples I've posted here, you may have noticed folders called "Archive" and "Dustbin". I find these useful in keeping my main folders tidy. I create a dustbin for files that I don't need but am reluctant to delete altogether - just in case. Archives are for more deliberate retention, for example I want to keep project documents for future reference while not having them crowd my active folder.
Another housekeeping tip is versioning. I keep back versions of manuscripts, copying the whole set of files into a new folder whenever I embark on a major revision. You can also distinguish versions in your file naming - e.g. "My file v1.doc"
Eventually I'll get around to tidying these up, but these easy tips all help to keep things under control by distinguishing current from old documents.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Whip those documents into line!
A bit more of what I've learned going through the self-publication process...
Last time, I talked about some things to think about in devising a filing system. This was all conceptual - how to choose which documents to keep together and which to store separately. This post is a bit more practical - some tips to put those filing ideas into practice.
Folders...
The most obvious and intuitive technique for organizing documents is to file them away into folders. This is the computer analog of filing papers in folders in drawers in a cabinet.
One of the big advantages computers have over physical filing cabinets is the ability to build complex folder structures, nested as deep as you want. This is great if your conceptual scheme involves groups within groups within groups because you can mirror your thinking in the folder structure.
...Use with care
As with most things, of course, you can have too much of a good thing. Something that drives me crazy is delving deep into many layers of folders, only to find one or two (or maybe zero!) documents at the end of each tortuous road. My personal preference is to only organize a given collection of documents into sub-folders when there are enough of them to make it worthwhile.
A useful rule of thumb I use is to aim to end up with somewhere between 5 and 20 documents and/or sub-folders in any given folder. As with all rules, this is only a guideline and there are always exceptions, but my thinking is that if you are consistently finding fewer than 5 or more than 20, then the chances are you are either over- or under-organizing.
What's in a name?
I guess I don't need to mention that it helps to make your file and folder names meaningful. But the next tips are all about ways to make use of names in an organized way to supplement the folder structure. These tips rely on the default behavior of folders to list items alphabetically, and are especially useful if you want to bring some additional organization without introducing a new level of folders.
Structured naming
When you choose a meaningful file name, you will usually find it contains a number of elements. If you have several related files in your folder, you will likely find they have some elements in common. Structured naming is simply making a conscious choice to apply some consistency to those elements and the order in which you use them.
This is best illustrated by a simple example. I have a place in my "Writing business" folder to keep the final production versions of files to be uploaded to various publishing outlets.
I have uploaded files to Amazon KDP, CreateSpace, and Smashwords, and each one needs separate files for cover and text. I also have some common files for the official blurb (used to describe the book in online stores) and versions of the cover at a resolution suitable for use on blogs and websites. In this case, you will see that I have five different versions of the cover alone, and it's essential to use the correct one in the correct place, but the naming convention makes it clear which is which.
Important features here are that:
More on naming conventions in the next post...
Last time, I talked about some things to think about in devising a filing system. This was all conceptual - how to choose which documents to keep together and which to store separately. This post is a bit more practical - some tips to put those filing ideas into practice.
Folders...
The most obvious and intuitive technique for organizing documents is to file them away into folders. This is the computer analog of filing papers in folders in drawers in a cabinet.
One of the big advantages computers have over physical filing cabinets is the ability to build complex folder structures, nested as deep as you want. This is great if your conceptual scheme involves groups within groups within groups because you can mirror your thinking in the folder structure.
...Use with care
As with most things, of course, you can have too much of a good thing. Something that drives me crazy is delving deep into many layers of folders, only to find one or two (or maybe zero!) documents at the end of each tortuous road. My personal preference is to only organize a given collection of documents into sub-folders when there are enough of them to make it worthwhile.
A useful rule of thumb I use is to aim to end up with somewhere between 5 and 20 documents and/or sub-folders in any given folder. As with all rules, this is only a guideline and there are always exceptions, but my thinking is that if you are consistently finding fewer than 5 or more than 20, then the chances are you are either over- or under-organizing.
What's in a name?
I guess I don't need to mention that it helps to make your file and folder names meaningful. But the next tips are all about ways to make use of names in an organized way to supplement the folder structure. These tips rely on the default behavior of folders to list items alphabetically, and are especially useful if you want to bring some additional organization without introducing a new level of folders.
Structured naming
When you choose a meaningful file name, you will usually find it contains a number of elements. If you have several related files in your folder, you will likely find they have some elements in common. Structured naming is simply making a conscious choice to apply some consistency to those elements and the order in which you use them.
This is best illustrated by a simple example. I have a place in my "Writing business" folder to keep the final production versions of files to be uploaded to various publishing outlets.
I have uploaded files to Amazon KDP, CreateSpace, and Smashwords, and each one needs separate files for cover and text. I also have some common files for the official blurb (used to describe the book in online stores) and versions of the cover at a resolution suitable for use on blogs and websites. In this case, you will see that I have five different versions of the cover alone, and it's essential to use the correct one in the correct place, but the naming convention makes it clear which is which.
Important features here are that:
- I am consistent in the order of words. I decided to put the usage first, then the type of file, so all the Amazon files are together etc.
- I am consistent in the words themselves. I chose to abbreviate CreateSpace and Smashwords to CS and SW, and I stick to it.
More on naming conventions in the next post...
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Organized chaos
A bit more of what I've learned going through the self-publication process...
I've talked about the mechanics of setting up as a business and getting a book through the publication process. There's a lot involved and, as I discovered early on, documents start accumulating like they're breeding on the hard drive.
I already had the actual novel contents and working notes - characters, setting, timelines etc. - sorted out long ago, but I now found lots of new stuff cluttering the place that didn't quite belong anywhere: research on various business and publication topics, business records, correspondence, and to-do lists up to the eyeballs.
Luckily, this bears a lot of similarities to documentation issues facing IT projects and systems support, so I recognized the symptoms early on and took draconian action. What I came up with may sound heavy-handed and regimented, but it helps me keep things straight, and I've learned the hard way that if you wait until you realize you need a filing system, you are already in a pile of trouble!
There's a lot to talk about here, so I'm going to break this into two posts. Today I'll look at some high level concepts of separating documents into different kinds - designing a taxonomy for your filing system. Next time I'll show some actual filing techniques for keeping the hard drive tidy.
The big picture - choose your themes
Picture your kitchen. Whatever the size, whether you have ample storage or feel cramped, you probably at least have a home for everything. And you probably have some organizing principles at work - whether you thought things through or whether things organized themselves organically over time. Plates and bowls here, pots and pans there, cutlery in that drawer, cans and jars in the larder shelf by shelf.
Or maybe you have things for everyday use together, and the good china somewhere else. Different factors are important to different people, but the key thing is that they make sense to you.
The same holds true for documents. Birds of a feather flock together - but what constitutes "like" and "unlike" in the document world?
Here are a few things I bear in mind when designing a filing system:
As a rule of thumb, things that are most similar most likely belong together but this is not a rule to be slavishly followed. I find it better to start by putting together things that appear to make sense, then ask myself the above questions to see if I'm mixing dissimilar things together. That is not necessarily a problem, but it is something to be aware of and revisit if you find yourself having trouble with your system.
The biggest thing to remember is that there is no single right answer. Anything you come up with will be a compromise, so don't agonize over unattainable logical perfection, just set up something that works for you - and use it!
What I ended up with
Here's a snapshot of the top level of my writing folder.
Most of the folders I already had and are related to particular works or ongoing activities - novels, online groups, blog and website etc. These are my working areas - where I actually produce words - and they were working well enough so I didn't see a need to change anything there.
The new additions are related to feeding the end results into a publishing business: "Writing business" and "Writing planning".
"Writing business" is where I choose to keep my persistent business records - things like accounts, ISBN log, log of distribution outlets and other organizations I have set up accounts with. Here I also keep the final published versions of manuscripts. Pulling these out from the working areas means there is no question of which version did I put out there.
"Writing planning" is where I keep two different kinds of files: Planning notes relating to particular projects (e.g. publish Ghosts of Innocence), and results of research into various topics (such as what are the different elements that go into front and back matter). Note that here I am choosing to combine documents that differ in scope, lifespan, and purpose, but it works for me at the moment because a lot of my project activities both generate and use research results, so it's handy to have them together. The is something I might revisit at some point in future.
The last folder, "Writing resources", is a hangover from previous days. It holds notes and references that I am gradually migrating to a proper home in one of the other folders. This might yet get reincarnated if I decide to split projects from research/resources in future.
But remember
I am not advocating this as a scheme everyone should use. I'm just using it to illustrate some of the taxonomy principles I mentioned earlier.
The important thing is to decide on a system that works and makes sense to you.
It also helps to decide that you need a filing system in the first place!
I've talked about the mechanics of setting up as a business and getting a book through the publication process. There's a lot involved and, as I discovered early on, documents start accumulating like they're breeding on the hard drive.
I already had the actual novel contents and working notes - characters, setting, timelines etc. - sorted out long ago, but I now found lots of new stuff cluttering the place that didn't quite belong anywhere: research on various business and publication topics, business records, correspondence, and to-do lists up to the eyeballs.
Luckily, this bears a lot of similarities to documentation issues facing IT projects and systems support, so I recognized the symptoms early on and took draconian action. What I came up with may sound heavy-handed and regimented, but it helps me keep things straight, and I've learned the hard way that if you wait until you realize you need a filing system, you are already in a pile of trouble!
There's a lot to talk about here, so I'm going to break this into two posts. Today I'll look at some high level concepts of separating documents into different kinds - designing a taxonomy for your filing system. Next time I'll show some actual filing techniques for keeping the hard drive tidy.
The big picture - choose your themes
Picture your kitchen. Whatever the size, whether you have ample storage or feel cramped, you probably at least have a home for everything. And you probably have some organizing principles at work - whether you thought things through or whether things organized themselves organically over time. Plates and bowls here, pots and pans there, cutlery in that drawer, cans and jars in the larder shelf by shelf.
Or maybe you have things for everyday use together, and the good china somewhere else. Different factors are important to different people, but the key thing is that they make sense to you.
The same holds true for documents. Birds of a feather flock together - but what constitutes "like" and "unlike" in the document world?
Here are a few things I bear in mind when designing a filing system:
- Scope: Does this apply to a narrow scope - just one novel, for example, or one step in the publication process - or does it speak in more general terms?
- Lifespan: Is this a temporary working note, for the duration of a project, or something longer lasting?
- Purpose: Manuscript, character or setting notes, research, correspondence, etc.
As a rule of thumb, things that are most similar most likely belong together but this is not a rule to be slavishly followed. I find it better to start by putting together things that appear to make sense, then ask myself the above questions to see if I'm mixing dissimilar things together. That is not necessarily a problem, but it is something to be aware of and revisit if you find yourself having trouble with your system.
The biggest thing to remember is that there is no single right answer. Anything you come up with will be a compromise, so don't agonize over unattainable logical perfection, just set up something that works for you - and use it!
What I ended up with
Here's a snapshot of the top level of my writing folder.
The new additions are related to feeding the end results into a publishing business: "Writing business" and "Writing planning".
"Writing business" is where I choose to keep my persistent business records - things like accounts, ISBN log, log of distribution outlets and other organizations I have set up accounts with. Here I also keep the final published versions of manuscripts. Pulling these out from the working areas means there is no question of which version did I put out there.
"Writing planning" is where I keep two different kinds of files: Planning notes relating to particular projects (e.g. publish Ghosts of Innocence), and results of research into various topics (such as what are the different elements that go into front and back matter). Note that here I am choosing to combine documents that differ in scope, lifespan, and purpose, but it works for me at the moment because a lot of my project activities both generate and use research results, so it's handy to have them together. The is something I might revisit at some point in future.
The last folder, "Writing resources", is a hangover from previous days. It holds notes and references that I am gradually migrating to a proper home in one of the other folders. This might yet get reincarnated if I decide to split projects from research/resources in future.
But remember
I am not advocating this as a scheme everyone should use. I'm just using it to illustrate some of the taxonomy principles I mentioned earlier.
The important thing is to decide on a system that works and makes sense to you.
It also helps to decide that you need a filing system in the first place!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Lost and found
Last month I loaded files to CreateSpace, sorted out a few formatting tweaks, and ordered a proof copy of the paperback.
The estimated delivery date came and went. No book.
Called the CreateSpace team, asked at the post office, waited more days. Still no book.
Called CreateSpace again and concluded that the package must be lost. They were very good about it and immediately dispatched a replacement which arrived yesterday.
This is a big milestone for me...I get to hold a physical copy of my book in my hands.
And I love it!
I'm a lot happier than I look - I don't do "happy" too well in photos...
Oooh! Shiny cover...
Did I really write that?
The estimated delivery date came and went. No book.
Called the CreateSpace team, asked at the post office, waited more days. Still no book.
Called CreateSpace again and concluded that the package must be lost. They were very good about it and immediately dispatched a replacement which arrived yesterday.
This is a big milestone for me...I get to hold a physical copy of my book in my hands.
And I love it!
I'm a lot happier than I look - I don't do "happy" too well in photos...
Oooh! Shiny cover...
Did I really write that?
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Dealing with officialdom
A bit more of what I've learned going through the self-publication process...
So, you've written a book and you've designed a cover. So all you need to do is visit Amazon (or Smashwords, or whoever you're distributing through) and upload them and click "Publish" - yes?
Well, maybe.
Assuming you've done all the work yourself, and you are keeping things simple and casual, then it can be that easy. This is the siren call of self-publishing. Anyone can do it at the click of a button. But if you are taking this journey more seriously, and want to set it on a good footing as an ongoing business, then there's lots of bodies that you might want to (or need to) get involved with.
Here's who I've dealt with so far this year
Things I've learned along the way
1. All this sounds daunting. What I've found, though, is that it just takes patience, and research, and more patience. Nothing so far has actually been difficult, not even dealing with the IRS, you just need to take things step by step and pay attention to the details.
2. US retailers will automatically deduct 30% tax from your royalties and hand it to the IRS. This might make sense if you have to pay US tax on your income anyway, but not if you live and pay taxes elsewhere.
Many countries have tax treaties with the US which can reduce or eliminate this, but you need to obtain the appropriate paperwork from the IRS to hand to your retailer so they know it's OK not to withhold tax.
Most people will be advised to get an ITIN, which involves lots of paperwork, fees, notarized copies of your passport, the chewed off heads of three chickens, and a piece of coal inscribed with a Zen koan. However, if you can legitimately describe yourself as a business, you can get an EIN instead which involved about ten minutes on the phone. The process is described very well here.
3. Finally, read the fine print. There have been a few surprises along the way that I didn't spot in my initial research:
CreateSpace only distributes to libraries and academic institutions if you choose to use their own ISBNs. I used my own ISBN so this channel was blocked.
Smashwords advertises a wide range of retailers that they deal with, including Amazon. What is not immediately clear is that they only offer limited distribution to Amazon and will "consider" shipping your title there only after you've reached $2,000 in sales through Smashwords.
Following on from this I took another look at Amazon, having originally discounted them because of their (apparent) requirements for exclusivity. I learned that selling on Kindle Direct does not require an exclusive agreement. This came as a surprise, because all I'd heard about was KDP Select, which requires exclusivity. It's all that Amazon talks about. They are trying to push this aspect and don't advertise the fact that this is just an option. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot if writers are put off altogether through not wanting to be restricted like that.
So, you've written a book and you've designed a cover. So all you need to do is visit Amazon (or Smashwords, or whoever you're distributing through) and upload them and click "Publish" - yes?
Well, maybe.
Assuming you've done all the work yourself, and you are keeping things simple and casual, then it can be that easy. This is the siren call of self-publishing. Anyone can do it at the click of a button. But if you are taking this journey more seriously, and want to set it on a good footing as an ongoing business, then there's lots of bodies that you might want to (or need to) get involved with.
Here's who I've dealt with so far this year
- Local municipal hall, to get a business license. I decided at the outset to put this on an official footing for when it comes to dealing with tax. Along the way, I looked into the BC company registry requirements and trade names, though I didn't need to deal with them because I am registered as a sole proprietorship under my own name. If you want a fancy company name, though, you would need to explore these aspects.
- Webs.com for web site hosting, and through them a domain name registrar. There are many options for setting up your own web presence which you are probably already aware of.
- US IRS, to get an EIN so I can take advantage of the tax treaty as a Canadian resident with no ties to the US.
- Then of course, there is the actual signing up with my chosen distributors: Smashwords, CreateSpace, and Amazon. In each case, though, I had the added step of submitting my W8-BEN tax information to stop them withholding US tax at source.
- PayPal, because that is how Smashwords pays you outside of the US.
- Library & Archives Canada, both to obtain ISBNs and to register Cataloguing In Publication data. Within the US you would need to obtain ISBNs from Bowker, unless you opt for using the ISBNs that many printers/distributors offer when you publish through them, and you would deal with Library of Congress for CIP data.
- Goodreads. This last was a quick afterthought, and there will probably be more to come. I checked out the Goodreads site and found that Ghosts was already listed there. I decided I should register myself as the author and lay claim to it rather than just leave it dangling there.
Things I've learned along the way
1. All this sounds daunting. What I've found, though, is that it just takes patience, and research, and more patience. Nothing so far has actually been difficult, not even dealing with the IRS, you just need to take things step by step and pay attention to the details.
2. US retailers will automatically deduct 30% tax from your royalties and hand it to the IRS. This might make sense if you have to pay US tax on your income anyway, but not if you live and pay taxes elsewhere.
Many countries have tax treaties with the US which can reduce or eliminate this, but you need to obtain the appropriate paperwork from the IRS to hand to your retailer so they know it's OK not to withhold tax.
Most people will be advised to get an ITIN, which involves lots of paperwork, fees, notarized copies of your passport, the chewed off heads of three chickens, and a piece of coal inscribed with a Zen koan. However, if you can legitimately describe yourself as a business, you can get an EIN instead which involved about ten minutes on the phone. The process is described very well here.
3. Finally, read the fine print. There have been a few surprises along the way that I didn't spot in my initial research:
CreateSpace only distributes to libraries and academic institutions if you choose to use their own ISBNs. I used my own ISBN so this channel was blocked.
Smashwords advertises a wide range of retailers that they deal with, including Amazon. What is not immediately clear is that they only offer limited distribution to Amazon and will "consider" shipping your title there only after you've reached $2,000 in sales through Smashwords.
Following on from this I took another look at Amazon, having originally discounted them because of their (apparent) requirements for exclusivity. I learned that selling on Kindle Direct does not require an exclusive agreement. This came as a surprise, because all I'd heard about was KDP Select, which requires exclusivity. It's all that Amazon talks about. They are trying to push this aspect and don't advertise the fact that this is just an option. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot if writers are put off altogether through not wanting to be restricted like that.
Monday, June 16, 2014
A busy week
First off, a belated "Thank you" to fabled megablogger Alex J. Cavanaugh for giving Ghosts a mention last week in his Ninja News. If you haven't visited his blog yet (and, let's face it, if you've managed to find The Bald Patch you must have encountered Alex somewhere in your travels. To say otherwise is a bit like saying you didn't notice England but you found the Isle of Wight!) then you can find it here.
Secondly, I hastily joined Goodreads. I have never felt enticed to join up before, too few hours in the day for the forums I already use, but I looked into it on the suggestion of blogger friend and Weekend Writing Warriors admin, Teresa Cypher.
When I saw that Ghosts was listed on the site, I decided I really should establish a presence and claim my property. You can find my author page here.
But that's not what made last week so busy - even without the BC teachers' strike forcing a distressingly hasty end to the school year.
The weekend before last, we wanted to get the trailer ready for its first outing of the year. It spends the winter parked out of the way with its back to the road, but it's quite a game reversing it out through the narrow entrance, avoiding a ditch along the way. When we need a quick getaway, we usually plan ahead and turn it around at our leisure so it's facing the right way to just hitch up and go.
That was Sunday lunchtime.
By half past lunchtime we realized we had a big problem. Our ten-year-old Ford was not looking too healthy. Suspension gone. It was not towing anything anywhere.
Moreover, even if it got fixed it's been playing up a bit this year and we decided it was time to retire it from towing duty. This is something we've talked about over the last year or so, just hadn't been expecting it so soon. Or with such urgency attached.
Ali is the purchasing queen in the household, so she was straight on to all the local dealerships looking for a second-hand truck with the oomph needed, and the cab space for a family. Long story short, after a stressful few days of frantic phone calls, we finished the week with a very decent F350.
So, on Friday Ali got away for her drunken weekend with work colleagues, and reports the new truck is a dream to drive and a delight to tow with. Should make things easy for our big drive up island later in the summer.
Secondly, I hastily joined Goodreads. I have never felt enticed to join up before, too few hours in the day for the forums I already use, but I looked into it on the suggestion of blogger friend and Weekend Writing Warriors admin, Teresa Cypher.
When I saw that Ghosts was listed on the site, I decided I really should establish a presence and claim my property. You can find my author page here.
But that's not what made last week so busy - even without the BC teachers' strike forcing a distressingly hasty end to the school year.
The weekend before last, we wanted to get the trailer ready for its first outing of the year. It spends the winter parked out of the way with its back to the road, but it's quite a game reversing it out through the narrow entrance, avoiding a ditch along the way. When we need a quick getaway, we usually plan ahead and turn it around at our leisure so it's facing the right way to just hitch up and go.
That was Sunday lunchtime.
By half past lunchtime we realized we had a big problem. Our ten-year-old Ford was not looking too healthy. Suspension gone. It was not towing anything anywhere.
Moreover, even if it got fixed it's been playing up a bit this year and we decided it was time to retire it from towing duty. This is something we've talked about over the last year or so, just hadn't been expecting it so soon. Or with such urgency attached.
Ali is the purchasing queen in the household, so she was straight on to all the local dealerships looking for a second-hand truck with the oomph needed, and the cab space for a family. Long story short, after a stressful few days of frantic phone calls, we finished the week with a very decent F350.
So, on Friday Ali got away for her drunken weekend with work colleagues, and reports the new truck is a dream to drive and a delight to tow with. Should make things easy for our big drive up island later in the summer.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Designing a book
Last month, I started posting about "After after The End": what happens after you've written "The End", and after the subsequent work giving you a manuscript ready to publish. I talked about all the other bits of text that wrap around the actual story, and today I'm touching on the design considerations that turn this raw material into a presentable book.
Just looking at the body text itself, there's a stack of questions to consider beyond the simple choice of font: how to style your chapter headings; use of drop caps or other style for the leading word of a new chapter; whether to start chapters on a new page or simply run on; where to place page numbers and whether you want title and author to show in the page heading; how to show scene breaks - leave a gap, or show asterisks or some graphic.
When it comes to the cover, there's the obvious choice of artwork, and the style and placement of title and author. Without any embellishments, the front cover is deceptively simple (art, title, author) but so much to get wrong! There are whole articles just on the science of mixing font families. For a print book, your cover PDF needs to extend across the spine and to the back.
The back cover needs just as much careful layout as the front. Do you have a plain back, some sort of artwork, author photo, frames or dividers to set off the back cover elements? And of course you need the right software to produce the ISBN barcode. You need to calculate the spine width according to the number of pages and weight of paper, and throughout you need to pay attention to margins to avoid any important elements getting chopped.
All this adds up to a lot of expertise and professional software to get right. This is one area where I decided it was vital to bring in a professional.
When I researched and interviewed local designers, I was looking for someone who I was comfortable would provide artistic input to the process and be ready to talk through ideas and options. I took along the artwork drafts I'd prepared last year and asked for opinions about which would work best as a cover, and why, and what changes would improve the composition.
Throughout the design process, my designer always presented several options as we narrowed down the details. I usually responded with a blend from several options to take us to the next stage. He also had the tools to manipulate the raw artwork in ways I couldn't have begun to do.
Quick aside: A lot of these considerations are less important for e-books than print. The front cover is just as important - and you have to remember that it must be readable when shrunk to a thumbnail - but for the interior layout simpler is generally better. E-readers give the user control over a lot of presentation aspects, so you should concentrate on ensuring consistency. I found the Smashwords style guide invaluable. It is lengthy, but walks through the process very clearly and none of it is really rocket science if you are reasonably familiar with MS Word.
Things I learned
Given that it's technically possible to publish a book with absolutely zero outlay on your part, it's tempting to do everything yourself. Unless you are a professional designer yourself, getting help at this stage is worth it, even more so than editing IMHO.
Hiring a designer could well be the biggest single expense you'll incur - so far that has been true for me - so take time to find someone you feel comfortable working with. Think about what you want from your designer and be ready to ask questions before committing yourself.
Listen to their advice (after all, that's what you're paying them for) but also listen to yourself. If something doesn't feel right, speak up and ask questions. Talk about what is and isn't working for you and ask for ideas, and be sure you're satisfied with the answers.
My designer made some great suggestions which I'd never have thought of, but also offered some versions that I looked at and said "Blegh!" It was important to be honest and also discuss why, so that we could home in on an answer.
At the end of the day, you have to realize your vision for your book.
Just looking at the body text itself, there's a stack of questions to consider beyond the simple choice of font: how to style your chapter headings; use of drop caps or other style for the leading word of a new chapter; whether to start chapters on a new page or simply run on; where to place page numbers and whether you want title and author to show in the page heading; how to show scene breaks - leave a gap, or show asterisks or some graphic.
When it comes to the cover, there's the obvious choice of artwork, and the style and placement of title and author. Without any embellishments, the front cover is deceptively simple (art, title, author) but so much to get wrong! There are whole articles just on the science of mixing font families. For a print book, your cover PDF needs to extend across the spine and to the back.
The back cover needs just as much careful layout as the front. Do you have a plain back, some sort of artwork, author photo, frames or dividers to set off the back cover elements? And of course you need the right software to produce the ISBN barcode. You need to calculate the spine width according to the number of pages and weight of paper, and throughout you need to pay attention to margins to avoid any important elements getting chopped.
All this adds up to a lot of expertise and professional software to get right. This is one area where I decided it was vital to bring in a professional.
When I researched and interviewed local designers, I was looking for someone who I was comfortable would provide artistic input to the process and be ready to talk through ideas and options. I took along the artwork drafts I'd prepared last year and asked for opinions about which would work best as a cover, and why, and what changes would improve the composition.
Throughout the design process, my designer always presented several options as we narrowed down the details. I usually responded with a blend from several options to take us to the next stage. He also had the tools to manipulate the raw artwork in ways I couldn't have begun to do.
Quick aside: A lot of these considerations are less important for e-books than print. The front cover is just as important - and you have to remember that it must be readable when shrunk to a thumbnail - but for the interior layout simpler is generally better. E-readers give the user control over a lot of presentation aspects, so you should concentrate on ensuring consistency. I found the Smashwords style guide invaluable. It is lengthy, but walks through the process very clearly and none of it is really rocket science if you are reasonably familiar with MS Word.
Things I learned
Given that it's technically possible to publish a book with absolutely zero outlay on your part, it's tempting to do everything yourself. Unless you are a professional designer yourself, getting help at this stage is worth it, even more so than editing IMHO.
Hiring a designer could well be the biggest single expense you'll incur - so far that has been true for me - so take time to find someone you feel comfortable working with. Think about what you want from your designer and be ready to ask questions before committing yourself.
Listen to their advice (after all, that's what you're paying them for) but also listen to yourself. If something doesn't feel right, speak up and ask questions. Talk about what is and isn't working for you and ask for ideas, and be sure you're satisfied with the answers.
My designer made some great suggestions which I'd never have thought of, but also offered some versions that I looked at and said "Blegh!" It was important to be honest and also discuss why, so that we could home in on an answer.
At the end of the day, you have to realize your vision for your book.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Anatomy of a book
One of the first things you realize when you want to publish your own book, is that there's more to a finished book than just the text.
If you want your book to present itself as a professional product (and that is essential if you hope to see it on bookstore or library shelves) then you need to realize that those additional parts are not just random adjuncts. They each have their purpose and, while there's a lot of variation, there are also some expectations around what goes where. Get it wrong, and it will scream "amateur" to anyone in the book-buying business.
The most obvious thing wrapped around the text is the cover.
The front cover is familiar enough and deceptively simple: artwork, title, and author. I'll talk another time about the benefits of a professional designer, but suffice to say that there's a whole website here dedicated to what can easily happen if you try to go it alone.
For print versions, you have to add the spine (title and author again) and back cover. The latter will usually carry at least a blurb, ISBN barcode, and maybe author bio and photo.
Of course, once I get past the cover, I typically flip to chapter 1 and start reading.
But wait! Back up a bit. What are all those pages I just flipped past?
If you look more closely, a typical book starts with several pages that have always looked random and confusing to me, but I've learned there is order and structure hidden there. These pages, collectively, are called "front matter".
At the very least, there is a title page, showing the title, author, and publisher. On the back of the title page is the copyright page.
Most of the front matter is fairly straightforward, but the copyright page is worth a special mention.
The copyright page typically contains legal statements ("All rights reserved, blah blah blah" and "This is a work of fiction, so, no I'm not writing about you, dumbass!"), author and publisher information, and ISBN.
Most of this is self-explanatory, but there's often a couple of confusing elements. Most professionally-published books in USA and Canada will have cataloguing-in-publication data. This is provided by the US Library of Congress or Library and Archives Canada, and tells libraries how to catalogue the work.
Here's an example:
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bott, Ian S., 1960-, author Ghosts of innocence / Ian S. Bott.
Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-0-9937242-0-6 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-0-9937242-1-3 (html)
I. Title.
PS8603.O9183G56 2014 C813'.6 C2014-902878-4 C2014-902879-2
The best bit about this section is that you don't have to worry about the content here. In fact, you mustn't try to alter it. You must include it exactly as given, weird spacing and punctuation and all.
At the bottom of the copyright page, you will often see a string of numbers. This tells you which edition of the work you are looking at. Why have a whole list of numbers (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3) rather than just saying "Edition 3"? This harks back to manual typesetting, where it was easier to set up the copyright page once, and just remove a number from the end whenever you prepared a new edition.
The main thing I've learned about the copyright page is to look at lots of examples, search for suitable templates, and include the wording that makes sense to you.
Other front matter elements: The title page is often preceded by a half title page (just giving the title), and can be followed by many pages of: dedication, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements.
For Ghosts, I am keeping it simple with a half title page, title page, copyright page, and dedication. Then into the meat.
At the back of the book, there may be more pages, oddly enough called "back matter". This includes things like appendices, end notes, glossary, bibliography, and index. Most of these sections are more likely to be used in non-fiction than in novels. I have not included any back matter in Ghosts, although I have posted a glossary on my web site and may consider adding it into a future edition.
The overall thing I learned here is to consult professional book designers, some of them have information and suggested layouts freely available on their websites. Use their guidance to learn what goes where, and pick what's right for you.
If you want your book to present itself as a professional product (and that is essential if you hope to see it on bookstore or library shelves) then you need to realize that those additional parts are not just random adjuncts. They each have their purpose and, while there's a lot of variation, there are also some expectations around what goes where. Get it wrong, and it will scream "amateur" to anyone in the book-buying business.
The most obvious thing wrapped around the text is the cover.
The front cover is familiar enough and deceptively simple: artwork, title, and author. I'll talk another time about the benefits of a professional designer, but suffice to say that there's a whole website here dedicated to what can easily happen if you try to go it alone.
For print versions, you have to add the spine (title and author again) and back cover. The latter will usually carry at least a blurb, ISBN barcode, and maybe author bio and photo.
Of course, once I get past the cover, I typically flip to chapter 1 and start reading.
But wait! Back up a bit. What are all those pages I just flipped past?
If you look more closely, a typical book starts with several pages that have always looked random and confusing to me, but I've learned there is order and structure hidden there. These pages, collectively, are called "front matter".
At the very least, there is a title page, showing the title, author, and publisher. On the back of the title page is the copyright page.
Most of the front matter is fairly straightforward, but the copyright page is worth a special mention.
The copyright page typically contains legal statements ("All rights reserved, blah blah blah" and "This is a work of fiction, so, no I'm not writing about you, dumbass!"), author and publisher information, and ISBN.
Most of this is self-explanatory, but there's often a couple of confusing elements. Most professionally-published books in USA and Canada will have cataloguing-in-publication data. This is provided by the US Library of Congress or Library and Archives Canada, and tells libraries how to catalogue the work.
Here's an example:
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bott, Ian S., 1960-, author Ghosts of innocence / Ian S. Bott.
Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-0-9937242-0-6 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-0-9937242-1-3 (html)
I. Title.
PS8603.O9183G56 2014 C813'.6 C2014-902878-4 C2014-902879-2
The best bit about this section is that you don't have to worry about the content here. In fact, you mustn't try to alter it. You must include it exactly as given, weird spacing and punctuation and all.
At the bottom of the copyright page, you will often see a string of numbers. This tells you which edition of the work you are looking at. Why have a whole list of numbers (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3) rather than just saying "Edition 3"? This harks back to manual typesetting, where it was easier to set up the copyright page once, and just remove a number from the end whenever you prepared a new edition.
The main thing I've learned about the copyright page is to look at lots of examples, search for suitable templates, and include the wording that makes sense to you.
Other front matter elements: The title page is often preceded by a half title page (just giving the title), and can be followed by many pages of: dedication, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements.
For Ghosts, I am keeping it simple with a half title page, title page, copyright page, and dedication. Then into the meat.
At the back of the book, there may be more pages, oddly enough called "back matter". This includes things like appendices, end notes, glossary, bibliography, and index. Most of these sections are more likely to be used in non-fiction than in novels. I have not included any back matter in Ghosts, although I have posted a glossary on my web site and may consider adding it into a future edition.
The overall thing I learned here is to consult professional book designers, some of them have information and suggested layouts freely available on their websites. Use their guidance to learn what goes where, and pick what's right for you.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
After after "The End"
Anyone who's tried to write a novel, and especially anyone who's joined a critique group, knows that writing those two little words "The End" is a very long way from being the end.
After "The End", there's endless rounds of editing and polishing, revising and editing again, which is likely to take you several times longer than writing the actual story.
But eventually you finish up with a story that you are happy with. Typo-free, grammar-perfect, every word in its place, every paragraph sings.
It's ready.
But what about after that?
Once you get past that shedload of work after "The End" there's yet another whole after world of strangeness and hard graft waiting for you.
Now that I've chosen to go it alone, and getting close to putting something out there for real, I wanted to share some of the things I've learned through this part of the process.
I'm not trying to give advice! Let's be clear about that one point. Apart from the small matter of who the heck do I think I am to be giving anyone advice, seeing as I'm not even published yet, and it might all fall flat on its face and you'd be better off not listening to me, there's also the oft-repeated idea that everyone's writing journey is different. What works (or not, let's wait and see) for me may not be right for you.
So, I'm not giving advice. All I'm setting out to do is describe some parts of the journey, why they have been important to me, and what I've learned along the way.
To save you some mental indigestion, I'm planning to break this up into a series of posts over the coming weeks. And if you want me to touch on any aspect in particular, please feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll do my best to respond in future posts.
After "The End", there's endless rounds of editing and polishing, revising and editing again, which is likely to take you several times longer than writing the actual story.
But eventually you finish up with a story that you are happy with. Typo-free, grammar-perfect, every word in its place, every paragraph sings.
It's ready.
But what about after that?
Once you get past that shedload of work after "The End" there's yet another whole after world of strangeness and hard graft waiting for you.
Now that I've chosen to go it alone, and getting close to putting something out there for real, I wanted to share some of the things I've learned through this part of the process.
I'm not trying to give advice! Let's be clear about that one point. Apart from the small matter of who the heck do I think I am to be giving anyone advice, seeing as I'm not even published yet, and it might all fall flat on its face and you'd be better off not listening to me, there's also the oft-repeated idea that everyone's writing journey is different. What works (or not, let's wait and see) for me may not be right for you.
So, I'm not giving advice. All I'm setting out to do is describe some parts of the journey, why they have been important to me, and what I've learned along the way.
To save you some mental indigestion, I'm planning to break this up into a series of posts over the coming weeks. And if you want me to touch on any aspect in particular, please feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll do my best to respond in future posts.
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