Following on from my previous post, I have moved a little further along the road towards creating my first-ever paperback *shivers as a life-long dream seems possible*.
Firstly, I set up a CreateSpace account alongside my Amazon author’s account, then proceeded to navigate CS’s user-friendly set-up menu. I was offered a plethora of differing sizes for my physical book, and after having discussed this with other bloggers, I finally settled on the 6×9″ format.
I then downloaded the novel template (6×9″), after which ‘A Construct of Angels’ (already formatted in Word) was pasted into the template so I could make any adjustments to the layout.
Here’s where the gnashing of teeth began…
When I scrolled through the virtual book (complete with flipping pages feature…it’s looking more like a real book already), I found a problem. Not Major by any means, but nether was it minor.
For some reason, my the formatting contained within my original layout caused the whole MS to leave random (it seemed) spaces at the bottom of every page, giving it a chewed-off appearance . I had to spend three nights inside the Word document copying and pasting text from the top of the previous page into the end of the text from the one above. Sometimes there was only one blank line; other times there were five.
Weird. This was the point where I wondered if I should finally make the move to Scrivener…
Patience required, definitely. Still, I wanted it to be right, so I put in the time to set it all up properly.
Save, copy, paste and check the format on CS once again – more flicking through virtual pages with a beady eye on the spacing.
Then the next problem reared its head. I use two images within my text. CreateSpace’s automated formatting checker decided that the resolution of these images was too low to print properly. Now, this is an image of some handwriting - some very poor handwriting, as it happens…if you think ’spider that scuttled through a puddle of ink’ then you won’t be far off. Yes, it’s ncessary to the plot.
Guys, it doesn’t NEED to be hi-res.
I DID try to change the resolution using Paint and then PhotoImpact, but to no avail. I can live with it. The question is, will CreateSpace let it pass?
The next stage is the cover.
I sent the details of the size, page colour and page count to Ravven who has tweaked the original artwork to match. Thanks, Ravven!
Now that the final piece is in place, and CreateSpace is happy with the format (low-res image notwithstanding), I have ordered the proof copy from the US printers (the proof has to come from the US, but subsequent purchased copies are created in the UK for UK buyers) and wait for its arrival with teeth gound and breath held.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but never really imagined that it would be possible for me to have my novel on a shelf alongside the likes of of Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and David Eddings (I did say I’d been writing for a long time).
But when I began to imagine that it could be possible, I began to write with a serious aim – to see my work in print.
However, I could never have imagine the circuitous, nay, labyrinthine route that my journey would entail.
I’d imagined that I would complete my book, send it off to a publisher and they would dance for joy at my having approached them. And for a while, I continued to entertain this (flimsy) dream.
But then things began to shift within the literary world. It became de rigueur to approach an agent first if any hope of publishing was to be entertained. So, with my first attempt at a novel completed in 2011, I began to make the Royal Mail postal service earn their keep by querying over one hundred UK-based literary agencies.
To no avail.
I received a smattering of replies (less than half) from the agencies, during which time I began to take notice of the rumblings regarding self-publishing for indie authors. In July 2012, when I received John Jarrold’s extensive rejection letter, it prompted me to write my first-ever post and I plunged into the world of electronic authorship, swimming with my other published and want-to-be-published fellows. In the three months that followed, I learned a great deal fom my fellow bloggers (thank you, one and all!) and October saw me uploading y debut novel, ‘A Construct of Angels,’ to Amazon.
I couldn’t have been happier. I’d achieved a life-long ambition – to create a novel that could sell.
But now, thanks to potential buyers’ feedback, I find myself in the peculiar position of considering a paper book once again, except this time, I will be the publisher, agent, publicist and distributor. CreateSpace, the printing arm of Amazon, has opened up whole new possibilities for the independent author. Books and novels (for they are not the same animal) can be created for a modest cost and shipped directly to the buyer via Amazon or bought in bulk and delivered to retail outlets such as Waterstones.
This work-around route to getting a paperback novel published still seems a little crazy to me…but, hey, we gotta do what we gotta do.
I’ll keep you posted as to how this all works out.
Over the past six months I have introduced ‘A Construct of Angels’ (using my bookmarks) to hundreds of people. In that time, a clear pattern of responses has emerged from my endeavours.
Pretty much everyone is initially startled by my ‘Do you read much?’ query, but they soon settle when I hand them a free bookmark and ask them if they’d care to try my book. Most stare at the bookmark, then at me and I can almost hear the penny drop as they say; ‘This is YOURS? You actually WROTE this?’
It always surprises me how people change when it dawns on them that they are standing next to someone who has (self) published a novel. Having had six months to get used to the idea, the shock and awe of finally completing a book has worn off, and I often forget how humbled I always felt in the presence of Jenna Burtenshaw, the author of Wintercraft and Blackwatch. Last year, I attended her book signing in Darlington and there she was - a published author and there I was, a newbie wannabe unpublished speck of nothing. I wasn’t fit to stand in her shadow…and so on.
It’s very strange hearing people using words like ‘honoured’ and ‘amazed’ when they talk to me – words that I try to shrug off. I’m not a movie star. I’m simply a writer who managed not to succumb to the depressing idea of never having a book see the light of day – nothing more.
Generally, the people I talk to are quite receptive to the idea of the bookmark and most will assure me that they will have a look at the free chapters available via Amazon. Of those who tell me that they don’t own eReaders, most are surprised that Amazon will offer them free software, ‘Kindle for PC’ that allows them to read Kindle books on their PC, Laptop, Netbook or Tablet. I’ve probably been responsible for a few dozen non-Kindle readers now being able to buy and read Kindle eBooks.
I also point them towards Smashwords, where ‘A Construct of Angels’ is listed in ePub, pdf and several other formats.
With the remainder, I have hit a stumbling block and I feel that the time has come to address that problem. Some readers, for various reasons, remain committed to paper books – something that I am currently unable to supply for sevral reasons. For one, I have been rejected by every genre-relevant agency in the UK, which is one of the reasons that I decided to self-publish. The other reason for my remaining entirely electronic is that the cost of a paper book was so far above that of an eBook, it seemed prudent to sell my work at the lower cost rather than try to push the more expensive paper version.
But I have seen so many faces registering disappointment when I admit that my book doesn’t exist in physical form, I am now reconsidering my decision to remain purely and unshakably twenty-first century electronic.
CreateSpace seems, for the moment, the best option for me. My book is already uploaded to Amazon, so having it available on the same site would appear to make sense. I’m currently using Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo and Scribd to shift copies (some with better success than others), so a fifth site would just complicate things – unless of course that new site was far better than CreateSpace.
If you’re also in the position of thinking about offering a paper book, Karen Inglis has posted a huge amount of information on the subject. As a UK-based children’s author, Karen is favour of using a combination of CreateSpace and UK print-on-demand company LightningSource to save on shipping costs and delays.
*One day later;*
A couple of my blogging friends (thanks guys) have advised me that CreateSpace may now be advanced enough to be able to use for distribution on both sides of the big pond.
Sounds like a plan…although the goalposts are constantly shifting.
Watch this space…I might be entering the twentieth century once again.
This week, several events coincided and left me walking on air…
I was assigned, as part of my day job, to the sparkling town of Blackpool (you know, the Northern English town with its own version of the Eiffel Tower)
During my time at the sweet (candy) factory there, I found the largely Polish workforce to be very receptive to my book and I’ve already seen some sales from the bookmark handout, the concept of which I covered in several previous posts.
That might be the end of the sales run, but I’d like to think that the Polish community might pass the word around. After all, one of my minor characters DOES have a Polish Grandmother…
I also found a fan in a colleague who not only bought my eBook whilst we were working together, but took an active part in promoting it on my behalf, reinforcing my bookmark spiel with his own enthusiastic endorsements.
Thank you Peter!
His sister, Penny, has also bought a copy (on Peter’s recommendation) and she is peparing to read it as I write this. When he told Penny that he was sitting next to the author, she became curious as to my personality and asked him all about me – something that brought a warm glow to my insides.
Peter read through several chapters of ‘A Construct of Angels’ each evening, allowing us to discuss the events and characters as we worked through the next day, although I had to be very, very careful not to utter any spoilers. As he talked about the book, his obvious enthusiasm for my writing left me with a peculiar feeling of conflict; I was happy that he was enjoying the book and took some pride from the fact that I’d created something that had affected him in such a positive way.
And yet, I couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed when he offered praise. It’s a wonderful thing to receive and I ought to soak it up like a sponge as it’s a rare beast. However, being somewhat reclusive in nature I don’t feel at all comfortable when it comes my way - I really don’t know what to do with myself.
So, Peter, if I appeared to squirm and look mildly uncomfortable as you enthused, you were doing nothing wrong. It’s not you…it’s me.
And yes, please feel free to nag me regarding the sequel, ‘ A Vengeance of Angels’, which has fallen behind schedule due to other committments. I WILL endeavour to get it finished. Plus, you’re now on my beta readers list for when it’s completed.
McCaw #1:nag nag nag McCaw#2: All right, all right, I’ll finish the book – I promise!
One other event that cause me to stare and utter the immortal phrase ‘No Way…’ was an abrupt and completely unexpected spike in the number of followers of my author page on Facebook. In the space of twenty-four hours, the followers rose from a rather sad 11 likes to a staggering (relatively speaking) 256 likes.
:O
There are two possible explanations for this unprecedented event: I’ve been part of two promotions this week. One was Cassandra Giovanni’s cover reveal - a reblog on my previous post (as well as being echoed on Facebook and Twitter) – and the other was ‘The Mega Giveaway’ on the ‘For the Love of Fiction’ Facebook page.
If you haven’t already seen this, please take a moment to check it out. Although if you are reading this on a re-run (i.e. after June ’13), the Giveaway may have ended. Still, you could always drop in and have a peek at my author page whilst you’re there.
All the events of this week illustrate the power of communicating effectively, whether it’s by word of mouth or by using the Interweb.
Stop Press; I’ve been told that it was ‘The Big Giveaway’ that boosted my author page. One of the requirements of entry via Rafflecopter is to ‘like’ the author’s page. That boost to 256 indicates a good response to the giveaway…
I was very pleased (not to mention surprised) when Briana Vedsted nominated me for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award!
This was an award I’d not seen before so I was delighted when Briana chose to nominate me and my blog.
The rules for this award are:
1. Display the Award Certificate on your website.
2. Announce your win with a written post and link to whoever presented your award.
3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.
4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have liked them in the post.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.
So here goes!
Seven interesting (I hope) things about me:
1. Robin Hobb’s ‘Blood of Dragons’ might be the last paper book I will ever read…
2. Writing has become my anchor in an otherwise chaotic life.
3. I dislike the cold and grey of winter – but I love the snow! How weird (S.A.D.) is that?
4. I have a terrier who may have been an engineer in his former life. He’s the smartest dog I’ve ever seen.
5. I’m fascinated by sunsets and cannot stop taking photos of them.
6. My biggest regret is having not pursued motor racing in my 20′s. I still think I could have made a career out of it.
and…
7. I can find peace and inspiration if I stop to watch running water. Perhaps my Muse is a water-spirit…
And now for my nominees (I’m doing 10 instead of 15):
As it’s a loyalty award, I will nominate those who have been with me, who have encouraged me and stuck with me throughout my (and their) ups and downs…
Ryan Casey - without whom I may not have (self) published
Candace Knoebel - whose adventures have blazed a fiery trail!
Sonya Loveday - for her love, encouragement and inspiration here and on Facebook.
Jon at Jumpingfromcliffs - for keeping me going when things got sticky.
Michelle Proulx - for her zany (and often surreal) humour and for introducing me to the word ‘Woot!’
Pat at patwoodblogging - for her steadfast encouragement even when it snowed.
…
…plus a few newer followers with whom I have enjoyed much banter;
Karen Gadient - it seems we share much that is non-corporeal!
Daphnee at AnEvilnymphsblog - who is anything but evil (sorry, didn’t you want that known?).
Nightwolf aka KisaWhipkey - for encouragement via blog and Facebook
It’s a milestone. Thank you to lindaghill, my 100th follower and to my 103 other friends in the blogsphere. You have made my (relatively short) journey a pleasure!
I say relatively short – I’ve been blogging since May 2010 but only sent out my first post in July 2012. I’m sure there are other writers, artists and photographers who have been here for considerably longer.
My early blogging was mainly a journal was was retrospectively filled in to cover my early work back to 1999 -when records began. :)
Before that, my writing was random and tended to drift from project to project. I’d often lose focus or interest before anything of worth emerged from the pages – with one exception. The germ of the idea that eventually evolved into Homeworld began during my senior school years (when they still used Roman numerals) and was always present in the back of my mind. One day, I WILL go back to those 43,000 words and complete them – now that I know how the story is going to conclude. Regular readers will know that’s always been an Achillean failing of mine – not being able to conclude a story – but I’m aiming to change that now that I’ve finally managed to (self) publish my first novel.
The title of this post may infer that I have doubts about following so many blogs.
Not at all. I may not have the time to read each and every post in the same, leisurely manner that I did when I was following fifty bloggers, but that doesn’t mean that opening my ‘Blogs I follow’ tab isn’t a thrill and a pleasure. It does mean that I sometimes have to skim a little more than I used to, but I’m soon pulled in by an intriguing headline or an amusing title and find simple joy in reading the wisdom of others – plus sharing what I’ve learned so far.
I follow in the footsteps of those who are wiser and more experienced than I am.
This week’s extract is from ‘A Construct of Angels’ and describes the impromptu angel Michael’s battle against the self-named Damocles, an Anakim, or demon’s offspring.
At this point, Michael is only just beginning to realise his powers and has very little to time to explore them before Damocles attacks him with deadly force.
White light exploded across Michael’s vision as a hurricane of force roared about him; the world spun away in a dizzying blur and the ground hurled itself aside to give way to a vast body of water. Something dark slammed into Michael’s chest, smashing the breath out of him.
Spinning wildly, he ripped across the sky, supersonic shockwaves exploding from his arms and legs, but Michael willed his hurtling body to stop and the shockwaves instantly vanished from his limbs – but even as he slowed, a dark blur rocketed straight towards him.
This time Michael’s reactions were faster – he spun around, avoiding the hurtling shape just as he had side-stepped the black sword and watched as Damocles exploded past him like a missile, already turning to strike again. Watching the black dot grow larger by the second, Michael’s determination resolved - he would no longer be pushed around by the approaching Anakim.
Damocles cannoned into him faster than a fighter jet.
I’ve just completed the first part of an author interview with Draegon Grey. It surprised me how much fun something like this can be – almost like reliving the whole process of writing the novel over again. Happy memories, the small problems that seemed so insurmountable at the time and the joy of completing the work…they all came flooding back.
The second part, a character interview with Sara Finn, my protagonist, will follow soon.
In the meantime, you can read the ‘Author Moment’ interview here.
If you are a planner, I imagine that the answer to my next question will be obvious;
What inspires you to write that next post?
If you’re a planner, you’ve probably got a list of ideas to draw from, a sequence of posts that lead from one to the next to the next and so on. You may have a teaching plan that unfolds week by week to build into an exciting and informative series of articles.
But what if you hail from the Planet Pants?
What if you happen to be an impetious and spontaneous fly-by-luck scatterbrain like me?
I can often go for weeks without any idea about what I will post next – aside from my regularly irregular and often-late Six Sentence Sundays.
And then, without warning, an idea will strike, coming out of nowhere like a thunderbolt on a clear summer’s day.
Quickly, ere I forget the subject matter, I will fashion a post from old wood and used pieces of string - and as I write, I often realise that I am trying to cover several subjects, several concepts within the same post. Rather than (as they said in Top Gun) push a bad position, the disparate subjects will split into enough material to suggest several vaguely-related posts; In other words, the fledgling post will create spin-off ideas; it will have babies.
A half-dozen little pink and hairless posts will suddenly begin to mewl and squeak and demand to be considered as posts in their own right.
So the fresh flurry of fledgling posts will be nurtured. They will be a bit like my family - very loosely related and perhaps a little edgy. There may be very little to connect them to previous or future posts aside from a single word or a faint, shining thread of thought.
That is why, dear reader, you may see groups of related topics appearing from me – sometimes two or three in one week.
Despite my endeavours to hold them back and release them into the wild one at a time, they will often break free. When that happens, I am forced to watch helplessly as they circle the internet, scaring young women and inspiring modern Hitchcocks into making new movies a la noir.
But I’m interested to know; How does inspiration strike you? Your system cannot be as haphazard as mine…surely?
Do you have a rolling plan of posts that stretch towards a vanishing point on the distant horizon? Or is inspiration fired by a song on the radio, a news article or even another blog post?
It occurred to me last night that most, if not all, writers fret about their content and I began to wonder about the whole process of worry and uncertainty.
Do natural worriers make good writers? Do we excel at creativity because our brains are always active, imagining events that range from statistically probable to those that will never happen even in the pages of a bad novel?
My mind, sadly, seems to be on a constant drive towards pessimism. Some days, when my fret gland is active, my Muse goes into overdrive, conjuring up a series of ‘what-if’ scenarios that leave me questioning my sanity.
For example; I can be driving past a police car and my Muse will whisper; ‘What if they decide to pull you over? What if some of the flour that you bought last week leaked onto the carpet? They might think you’re a dealer and arrest you. You could end up in a holding cell with a vicious biker gang that’s out to make a headline. They could kill you. By the time the police realise it’s only flour you could have lost an eye, or a limb. And then what would happen to your writing?’
This is the point where I look my Muse directly in the eye and say;
‘Seriously – WTF?’
She will calm down and take her meds as prescribed and become lucid for a time, but then, without warning;
‘You know how you think you turned the gas cooker off, but you’re not sure because you might be remembering turning it off yesterday and only think that you did it this morning, but you might really have forgotten and when you get home and you turn on a light, it could set off a spark and blow up the whole house?’
Me; FFS – The house is all-electric.
Muse; Oh. I worry too much, don’t I? I think I will take a tablet.
Me; Thank you. Please do.
Muse; *Pauses with the tablet close to her mouth* ‘But did you ever wonder about Lenticular clouds – you know, the ones that look like flying saucers? What it they really were flying saucers in stealth mode and they were watching us? And what if flying saucers weren’t aliens but visitors from our future and they want to know why it all went wrong so that they could guide us to a better tomorrow?’
Me; Now, look…
Muse; I know. I’m sorry. I’ll take that tablet now.
Me; No, no. *searches for a pen* Seriously, that last one is a great idea – tell me it again so that I can write it down. It could become a novel – a series, even. Maybe Hollywood will pounce on it and offer me millions.
Muse; *swallows tablet* Hmm? Sorry, what idea?
*Andy groans*
So, is your mind naturally over-active? Do you, as a writer, constantly ponder the (often far-reaching) consequences of your actions? Does your Muse deliver a stream of possible and impossible scenarios – one of which might be a gem of a story?
For the sake of my sanity, I hope it does.
For your sanity, I hope it doesn’t.
Please let me know if I’m alone in this.
If I am, I will seek immediate help from the family of accupuncturist hedgehogs that live in the fairies nest at the bottom of my garden…
