Notes on Createspace File Prep, and NaNoWriMo News

Happy Friday, everyone! Wow, this week flew by! I'm knee-deep in the launch prep for I, Zombie and have had so much fun shouting about it everywhere. We'll see how it goes. On to other, more production type things! Today, I'm talking about something to beware of when printing your book with Createspace. Let me start off by saying I love Createspace. I think they're the best, easiest option out there for Indie authors to get print books. However, the issue I'm detailing today really needs to be something they fix somehow. Perhaps a special account for those that know what they're doing.

So, I decided to release an anthology of the first 5 Mystic books in print and use the covers that will be changed globally when Markaza's book is released next year. Because of this, I also revamped the interior. Well, this caused me a huge problem. Let me show you what I mean; telling you isn't going to help.

I love typography. I think it makes some of the most beautiful art on the planet. Apparently, CS doesn't agree with this practice. When I uploaded my book with this pretty type-style artwork on the chapter openings pages:

(I adore it. What you see here is the page trimmed to the bleed lines. Now keep in mind, the M would disappear into the gutter quite a bit and it's cutting off the C and the dot on the I. Still, pretty, eh? And matches the cover perfectly!)

They rejected it.

Why? The reason they gave me is that the text is too close to the edge of the page which would result in quite a bit of it being cut off during production. There should be at least a .125" margin on all sides.

I e-mailed them and outlined that the text they were referring to wasn't meant to be read, it was there for artistic purposes, was a 330dpi image (this is why their auto-checker didn't find any issues), and there was a ONE inch margin around the text in the body of the book (more than they require, but an industry standard). Hell yeah, I was gonna fight for my design!

I waited less than 24 hours when a response showed up in my inbox. A human would try and explain my design to the other humans who look over the book and get the approval for the proof regardless. That person would try and push my design through to production and I should look for an answer sometime over the next two days. YAY!

Excitement flooded me! I was gonna get my beautiful type treatment!

My joy was short lived, however, when I was told there was no way the team could push it through.

Drats!

At that point, I'd exhausted all my options and decided to just reformat the chapter opening pages without my beautiful type art.

This is what I ended up with:

While still fun, and very Markaza-ish, it's just not what I would've preferred.

Oh well.

Why am I sharing this with you? To keep you from using type in a full bleed page design intended for Createspace and having them reject it. Twice. As always, I'm trying to save you from a permanent red spot on your forehead from banging it on the desk out of frustration.

Lesson learned. I feel like the bad child who had their hand slapped. *Note to self: Never EVER use type that might be cut off in ANY way in your book design until you've convinced CS to create a special account just for you*

Yeah, that's my next goal. I'm gonna try to get them to change the policy where this is concerned. *grin*

I'll keep you updated.

On to the next part of this post!

If you were a participant in NaNoWriMo this year, you're now able to go pick up your winner goodies! There's some awesome stuff on the offering block so I suggest you go check it out.

NaNoWriMo.org

Look very closely at the Lulu offer. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Have you ever experienced this kind of thing with your printer? How did you handle it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Mystic ~ Lily Released Today

 Women Save The World!

Today is the day you've all been waiting for! Book two of the Mystic series, Lily, is now available as both an e-book and a print book. Digital copies are $3.99 and a print copy will only set you back $8.99. Get one now! On Amazon or On CreateSpace.

IF you haven't yet read book one, Bronya, go get it now. On Amazon or On CreateSpace. It's FREE until tomorrow night at midnight. A little paranormal activity for you on Halloween!

Here are a few snippets from the reviews Bronya has gotten so far:

"Bronya is the first novella from the Mystic series, in this story we meet Markaza, a blue hair tattooed teenager and Bronya, a physically strong teenager living in a small town in Louisiana.

Markaza has the ability to see into the future and knows that she needs to recruit specific women from all over the US by befriending them..." ~ E. Mendez - 5 stars There's also a great interview over on Ms. Mendez's blog about the series. Check it out!

"I really found this book to be such an easy read that was quick and fast paced. Yet not so fast that nothing was ever not explained fully. Each of the characters presented were so rich and full of life as well as having flaws that made them so very likable. Characters that were judged by other people's standards and beliefs that made you want to root for the underdog to win out over all the haters, cheaters, losers, and liars of the world. Paranormal aspects of this story were cleverly woven in such a way that was just perfect blending into the background of the story and characters too." ~ Angie - 4 stars

"Congrats to Jo for writing a great novella. The characters are unique, and aren't often found in fantasy/paranormal stories. The writing and editing are both well done. It's a quick read, which is a bit disappointing - but only because I want more. Thankfully more are on the way!" ~ J. Chatfield 4 stars

Lily has also received a wonderful review over on Goodreads:

"The story of Lily picks up where Bronya left off. We see the main character Lily struggle with a big change in her life that left her unsure of where her place was in the world. We also find that people are not always what they seem to be such as fake friends who would rather laugh, ridicule, belittle, and be hateful of a person they claim to be friends with. In this book, we see a turning point for not only Lily but for Markaza and Bronya too." ~ Angie - 4 stars

Now for the synopsis of Lily:

Lily Conyers is a twenty-year-old who had it all going for her until a car crash left her with terrible scars, no modeling job, and an addiction to pain killers. When she meets a strange young woman named Markaza, Lily begins to re-build her life with encouragement from her new friend.

Problems arise when Lily leaves the safety of her apartment for the first time since her accident to venture back into the world she used to know. Her so-called friends shun her and her boyfriend recoils at the sight of her face. She rushes home with thoughts of suicide only to find a letter on her step from a company called WSTW; promising her a new life.

Lily packs her bags, bids Markaza goodbye, and sets off for the city. But going to New York is only the first hurdle Lily must jump. She must learn to use the power inside herself to help defeat an evil that is threatening to destroy the world. Once there, she meets a girl named Bronya and the two help one another re-build what was so negligently broken.

As Lily is boarding the plane bound for New York, Markaza boards another headed to Tennessee so she can collect the next young woman on her list: Shelia.

You can pick up a digital copy of Lily at Amazon or a print copy over on CreateSpace. You do not want to miss this second installment of the Mystic series.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo