Best Of
Re: Another possible cover for Coding Hour
Gentlemen (and any ladies who may have stumbled in here):
I took a couple weeks off while waiting on the proof. Sorry I haven't been here to discuss things.
I appreciate the discussion. It makes excellent food for thought, and I'm already thinking of what to do for my next book cover, which HVALA BOGU! is a non-fiction book at a fairly simplistic reading level. I can be pretty blatant on what it's about in making the cover, and it will fall dead-smack-on in a genre (instructional books).
For now, I've added a shadow to the knife (somewhat) as the proof did have it floating in space.
I think that the principal problem in showing my genre on my book covers is that I try to escape the confines of genres. I know, everyone says that - but honestly, if you could read a science fiction story that wasn't just another Western set in Space (Cowboys and Indigenous North Americans, for those of you who are not North Americans), wouldn't you prefer that to a standard shoot-em-up bang?
Not that there's anything wrong with the old Zane Grey / Louis L'Amour / Max Brand staples, but what if it could be more than that? A new take, a new twist, a bit of old and new... I'm thinking of a Sherlock Holmes take-off where the detective is a self-aware software program, for example... Would you make a cover based on Sherlock Holmes, or on Computers, or on something that made proponents of both scratch their heads a bit? A deerstalker cap and a pipe drawn in zeros and ones, maybe?
So I try (not that I achieve, but I try) to bend genres a bit. Cross-over, color outside the lines, pull the wagon out of the ruts. I'll confess: I'm a writer first and an artist second. I like to think that I've got a photographer's eye for composition, but I may flatter myself; nonetheless, my true craft is the written word.
It is what it is. At a certain point, I have to simply be happy with what I've done. And right now, I am. It's probably the finest work I've ever done, for weal or for woe. Later, I may go back and do revisions, but there are other projects piling up behind. I'm hoping to send out one more book by the end of the year.
Expect an announcement for this book some time around October 4 (the "Official" release). Until then, thank you for the help and discussion.
Skoob_ym
Room for Lulu to Have an Impact?
This article recounts how copyright problems have apparently gotten out of control vis a vis George Orwell's opus of books thanks to the willy-nilly way in which self-publishing through Amazon has played havoc with quality control:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/technology/amazon-orwell-1984.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fdavid-streitfeld&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection
Orwell resurfaced in 2014 during Amazon’s bare-knuckles fight with the publisher Hachette over e-book sales. Amazon tried to use a quotation by the author — renowned for his moral rectitude — to suggest he was a sleaze in favor of illegal collusion. It turned out the quote was very much out of context.
My newly acquired Orwell shelf was frankly dismal — typos galore, flap copy lifted directly from Wikipedia, covers that screamed “amateur.” Eleven of the books were sold directly by Amazon as new books and were shipped from an Amazon warehouse; one was sold as a new book by a third party. Prices ranged from $3 to $23.
The counterfeits and imports are generally the least expensive editions, and who can blame people for buying those? So they do. A $7.99 legitimate edition of “1984” was recently ranked at No. 72 among all Amazon books. A $5 Indian import was at No. 970, which suggested copies were selling at a steady clip.
Most of the distorted texts are likely due to ignorance and sloppiness but at their most radical the books try to improve Orwell, as with the unauthorized “high school edition” of his 1933 memoir. The editing was credited to a Moira Propreat. She could not be reached for comment; in fact, her existence could not be verified.
“Down and Out” is an unflinching look at brutal behavior among starving people, which makes Ms. Propreat’s self-appointed task of rendering the book “more palatable” rather quixotic. An example of her handiwork came when Charlie, a boastful rapist, described how he lured a young woman into his clutches:
“‘Come here, my chicken,’ I called to her.”
Ms. Propreat’s version:
“‘Come here,’ I called to her.”
It’s unlikely that Orwell, a finicky master of English prose, would have appreciated this editing — nor the fact that all the French in the book is rendered in capital letters, which makes it seem like the writer is shouting at the reader.
Until recently, improving Orwell was not a practical business proposition. Then Amazon blew the doors off the heavily curated literary world. No longer was access to the marketplace determined by publishers, booksellers or reviewers. Even the most marginal books were suddenly available to everyone everywhere.
Breaking down the doors, however, also let in people who did not appear to care about the quality of what they sell. . . .
Perhaps this is a place where an innovative self-publishing platform can pioneer some stronger controls? Or is digital publishing inherently incapable of editorial/publisher curation?
swmirsky
Re: How long.
That's the bonus of Lulu - once you've got your electronic content, tidying it up for print on demand takes not much effort at all. It's just a matter of knowing your formats, best margin sizes, and paying more attention to WYSIWYG. It took me about half a day to prepare and load a 300 page novel, including the extra cover art, just by tweaking the epub file copy.TheJesusNinja said:I never stopped reading print books. I hate to read on devices. Paperback in the hands is worth so much more. Plus looking at my two bookshelves full of books is better than watching a device full of them. My best selling was an ebook. Someone said do a print copy too. I did that and now it sells almost as much as the ebook. So now I make a print of every kindle that sells at all.
Mind you, no-body buys it, so I've still got the marketing hurdle to get over, but hey, that's life in the big city
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A_A_Cain
Re: How long.
My little bookshop was always only ever a vanity project, and to be honest, I didn't really expect to sell as many as I have. It's been fun developing a bit of an aesthetic for my covers, and having a little collection of print books on my bookshelf is pure self-indulgence.oncewas said:AA Cain - things are pretty bleak in the market at the moment. I have only sold 27 % so far this month of what I sold in August last year.
I've got close on a million words written over five years, with in some cases tens of thousands of readers - on a freebie website though - so the content was there anyway. Readers these days are quite content to read free content, but not willing to pay for it. C'est la vie.
A_A_Cain
Re: "Far and Away" Chapt. 3 Comments Welcome Please.
I agree about the punctuation in that opening paragraph. I had to read it several times before I understood what was meant. I would have punctuated like this, though:
Pronouncing his last name, “Owen,” audibly, Randal began chanting once again. This time to himself as he got himself out of bed, changed into his bathrobe, and headed for the shower.
I might say, though, that overall I think this chapter has some of the best writing I've seen you do.
Re: 6 x 9 template -- set in stone or suggested?
There's a tradition, I guess it could be called, to use fonts very similar to TNR, because they are said to be the easiest to read, so 'anything goes' is pushing it a bit.
I know that retail distribution has more stringent requirements,
I think that the font restrictions are mainly to do with what Lulu's conversion Wizards can handle, but as you say, any font imbedded into a PDF should go through, whereas in a docx they will not often.
and I can't speak to those, but I just printed some notebooks for myself that involved custom wingding-type fonts and smaller margins than suggested and they look fine.
It's all a bit different with e-books though, because many e-readers can change the font and the size of it, but I have no idea if any font can be used through Lulu's e-book Wizards because I always use one of Lulu's 'standed' fonts, Garamond, at pnt 12 (larger than 12pnt TNR.) It's like TNR but with a few more twiddles.
Re: Different options, Lulu vs Lulu Xpress
But both sites use the exact same printers. So quality should be identical.
We'll be updating to this new product line for lulu.com in early 2020 if all goes as planned. We've just been using Lulu xPress to test the new upload/design wizard and the new product line before we move those things to Lulu.com.
Re: Making a collector's edition paperback from eBooks
Re: 6 x 9 template -- set in stone or suggested?
Re: How long.
We authors whether we go the traditional or the self-published route, are in it together. I feel we should support each other in a world that is indifferent and possibly even increasingly openly hostile to books. Books are wonderful things and although now in my old age I have difficulty with the small print in some books) (I do resort to ebooks as I can make the font bigger) However, I can still buy the large print books.
Larika