Jonathan Swift and The Bird

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm going over a little something I used when writing The Bird: Writers of the past and their books. Most notably of the many tales I interweave is that of Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift. Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First, some interesting facts about Jonathan Swift from Wikipedia:

• Born: November 30, 1667 in Dublin, Ireland
• Writer of: Novels and Poetry
• Originally published everything under various pen names.
• Became Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral and was entombed there upon his death in 1745.

He looked like this:
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.




Interesting...





Now, if you've read The Bird, you'll know my heroine, Stormy, visits the grave of Mr. Swift at St. Patrick's Cathedral where she finds some rather tiny people. When I considered her quest and the golden apple she needed to procure for the witch, I thought how lovely it would be if Stormy had to face some Lilliputians. Seeing as the author of Gulliver's Travels was from Ireland, it made sense in my head to morph the little boogers into the gold-hungry, top-hat-wearing, shillelagh-carrying meanies we know as leprechauns.

Elves get a makeover, too.

I took a number of fairy tales I love and selected elements from them to weave a new-age story. To add to the realism, I also used a number of locations around the world to place scenes in the book. Did you know there's actually a place in Pennsylvania called Ringing Rocks?

It's these things that one must use to bring the element of believability to a fantasy novel. A world, changed ever-so-slightly, that reeks of truth. This is what I mean when I say you should write from life.

If you create another world, you're still using elements of something you've read about or experienced. Try using them in new ways. Step out of the box for a moment and reconsider everything you've been told. Put a new twist on something you know. Writers have awesome imaginations. Give them a workout.

Last, but not least, remember to always have truthiness in your tales. Never be afraid to take that extra step or go that extra mile. Use that word or phrase you've been wanting to. Speak your mind. Indies rock because there's no one lording over them, telling them what they can and can't say.

Is there something you've used from experience or prior readings? How did it spin your novel?

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

Jo

Creating Supplemental Book Swag

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today I'm talking about that stuff we all love called book swag. You know, the mugs, bookmarks, posters, and other stuff that makes us smile. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going, shall we?

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you've probably seen my link on the sidebar that takes you to my Zazzle page where you can get all kinds of book goodies like mugs, t-shirts, and mousepads.

Zazzle is easy to use, it's a snap to set up an account, and you can have your stuff for sale in no time. Plus, they don't charge you per item so you can upload a lot of designs and have folks buy them. If you check out my store, you'll see I have complimentary items for all my books. My personal favorite is the Indie Author's Guide mousepad. It cracks me up every time.

Plus, you can create a nifty flash panel like the one below:


View more gifts at Zazzle.

Now, for bookmarks, posters, postcards, magnets, etc... I use Overnight Prints. Why? Because the more I buy from them, the more of a discount I get over time. I'm a silver member now, only about twenty points away from gold. Their shipping is really fast and my prints look great! If you've ever gotten a bookmark from me, I bought them there. Like these:

What I love is there's no extra charge for backprinting or extra colors. You aren't limited in your design due to cost. If you have a six color logo and have ever tried to have something printed at a press shop, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Both of the sites above give you handy templates you can download and follow to make sure you have your bleed and safety straight. LOVE it!

As always, I'm not paid for recommending these sites, I'm just sharing the love.

Who do you use for your book swag? Have you ever created any? Why/why not?

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

Jo

Tube Tops - Day Six WABC

Oh my goodness! It's Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! That means just two more days until the weekend arrives! Get through today and you're golden. Still rolling along with the Winter Author Blog Challenge, and today's prompt is all about YouTube. That golden beacon in the sky, calling our names like a siren. It draws us in and holds us fast for hours. Without further ado, the prompt for today:

With more than 800 million unique visitors a month, YouTube is one of the most popular search engines. Do you have a YouTube channel? Have you made a book trailer for your book? If not, what kind of book trailer would you like to make for your book? Do you have a video camera? If you do and you’re not posting short videos, you’re missing out on a huge marketing opportunity. It’s especially useful if you’re trying to reach a global audience, as 70 percent of YouTube viewers are in countries other than the U.S. If regular video posts are still on your To-Do list, what are some of the most clever video posts you’ve seen, and how might you do something similar to promote your books or yourself as an author? Be sure to give us the link to your YouTube channel.

I've done one video on YouTube and made it private. You can only get to it by clicking on the link: http://youtu.be/ydqAJmVNa5Q I'd just woken up and look a bit like crap, but it was fun and a good learning experience. My idea was to figure out just how to do something like that from my iPad, and it went off without a hitch. YAY!

I attended a webinar last week called Book Marketing is Bull$h*t. At the start of the session, the host asked us to answer a poll. His question was: What avenues are helping you in your sales? Guess what the only option was that didn't get any votes. That's right, book trailers.

Like Pinterest, I think perhaps we're using them the wrong way. Instead of a trailer for a book, perhaps we should be exploring other options. YouTube is video, man! It has a billion (with a B) possibilities. As authors, we just need to figure out a way to tap into it and use it at its highest potential. I don't go to YouTube to find new books to read.

Ah! There's the million dollar question, huh? Where do readers go to find new books to add to their list?

I use:

• Recommendations from peers (Facebook and Twitter).
• Browsing the bookstore (I love a book sale!).
• Reading reviews on Goodreads (I read the ONE and TWO star reviews. If they're complaining about how the book made them feel, in a bad way, I usually enjoy the hell out of it. If it's talking about the bad writing, I know to avoid it).
• Keeping up with my favorite authors and jumping on it when they release a new book.
• Blogs that write reviews (I recently picked up Splintered by AG Howard this way).
• Winning giveaways (Jamie McGuire became a favorite of mine this way).

And, I ended up being a fan of a couple of authors from the last Author Blog Challenge. Tia Silverthorne Bach, Crystal Lee, Heather Topham Wood, and Ms. Sandi Tuttle (she's working on her book, but I love her blog!).

So, utilizing YouTube may be more about reading your book to your audience while they enjoy looking at the cover (please, for the love of Pete, comb your hair - unlike me - if you're going to use your face). I'm planning to work something up so I don't have to be on-camera but can still hook readers with an interesting story. I'm a photographer, too, so maybe imagery is the way to go. Something that compliments the story being told.

Being a graphic designer who's in LOVE with Typography, here are two of my favorite YouTube videos:
Font Conference
Font Fight
Confession: I watched them again after I linked them. Hehe

What have your YouTube experiences been like?

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

Jo

True Nature

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! February is about to step out and March will be upon us soon! I hope it brings you all peace and good fortune. 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty good year on this side of the country, and my blessing is that you all have the same success. Today we're going to delve into true nature. You know how much I like to go on and on about characters, and today is no different. Writing The Bird taught me a couple of lessons I'd like to share with you today. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Humans are such interesting creatures! They play mind games, put themselves on a pedestal, and manipulate others to get what they want. However, they can also be generous, kind, and caring. Whatever they are, it's their true nature. Pretenses can only be held on to for so long before the mask melts away, leaving their soul bared for all to see. This is important to remember when writing.

When I was writing The Bird, I had a loose outline in my head and the first few chapters plotted carefully. After that, I flew by the seat of my pants. I'm glad I did, because if I'd forced my characters into the roles I'd laid out for them, the book would've ended very differently. I love the ending! It was brought about by the true nature of my characters; which wasn't revealed until about halfway through.

This sounds crazy, huh?

But it's not. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when you attempt to force a character to conform. If you let them have their own way, they'll show you things your imagination could never come up with on its own.

But, Jo, it's in my head already, right? Something just happened to make it manifest on the page!

Not necessarily. As with life, it takes time for a character to show you the truth about themselves. They like to hide under masks and play cloak and dagger games with you; just like humans. Discovering what a character may be hiding is like finding a diamond in a lump of coal. But you have to give them time to reveal themselves.

You don't really know someone until you've been around them for a couple of years. In that time, watch how they interact with others, pay attention to the nuances, and listen carefully when they recount events you were present for to bystanders or other friends. It'll tell you a lot about their true nature. Everyone wants to be liked and revered; but that mask only lasts so long. You'll get glimpses if you pay attention.

I was caught completely off guard by my characters. Looking back, I now see the signs indicating exactly who they were on the inside. Their masks had me fooled, and I'm pretty shrewd!

So, take a look at your WIP's characters and look at what they're doing on the page. Really take the time to examine their actions and words. You may find that diamond.

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

Jo

Editing Tips

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today I'm going to be giving you some editing tips and telling you how to catch those niggling little errors that drive readers like me bananas.

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll know I keep a handy link list to relevant content herein. This is for you, not for me. It lets you find what you're looking for at a glance without having to do an irritating search or browse through hundreds of posts to find great information. This post will contain links to a few of those posts for your referencing pleasure. A lot of my visitors take notes while they're here, and you might want to consider doing so as well. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you're a writer, you should be going through no less than four rounds of edits before sending your content off to your editor. What's that? You don't use an editor? You should. They'll catch things you can't. But, if you insist on doing all your editing yourself, here are the five major edits that need to be done in your work:

1. Storyline - This is the first edit and should consist of you going through the storyline very carefully, line by line, making notes on what your characters are doing at any given point. You don't want an apartment on the first floor in this chapter only to have it on the second floor two chapters later, or your character to be asleep in bed and then having a conversation on the other side of town in the next sentence. Check dates for linear flow. Fact check now as well. Make sure elements and language used match the era and voice of the character. Make all your notes before you change anything. If there's anything to add or any holes to fill, do it now.

2. Cut Out Superfluous Words - Go through your manuscript with a possessed red pen. Kill as many of these words as you can: that, just, for, to, began, thought, as. Reword where necessary. Take out sentences and adjectives you don't need. Remove adverbs. This post will show you why you don't need them: -ly

3. Pronouns - This is a big one. Check each pronoun and the person or thing it references. Make sure you aren't using them incorrectly. Here's a handy guide: Pesky Pronouns

4. Consistency and Punctuation - This is where you check your flow. Make sure commas aren't sprinkled around like fairy dust. Be sure your sentences flow well. Read and re-read to be sure you've been consistent when spelling a word, using language, or using a reference. Check your chapters for tension. For the love of all that's good, use contractions unless writing formal speech. Chase the S! Search the words backward, forward, toward, etc... and check to be sure the s (if you used it) is consistent. Beware the homophone and make sue you're using the right word. Use semicolons now and then. If you aren't sure how to do that, check out this handy guide: Semicolons

5. Proofread - Give it one last once over. Check it all to make sure there aren't any of the issues listed above hanging around and everything is spelled correctly, all quotes are in place and are the right kind (see image below), and all i's are dotted and t's are crossed. This is your last chance to make it beautiful.

I use a literary editor. Every writer should. She goes line by line and checks everything. But every writer should also go through the first four items on this list before sending their manuscript off to be corrected. Your best bet is to let your story chill in a drawer for a couple of weeks after you're done writing it before you start the process above.

I hope this helps in some small way. I know being an indie author isn't easy, but if you want your work to get great reviews that don't bash your writing, put in the time.

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

Jo

Metaphors

Happy hump-day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're back to writing tips and general lessons! It's all about the metaphor on this glorious Wednesday so grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First off, a definition:
Metaphor: met·a·phor  /ˈmetəˌfôr/ Noun 1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. 2. A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract.

Well, we all know what it is, Jo. But how does one use it in writing? Great question!

A metaphor is saying something is something else (definition one). Using a metaphor is a skill that should be applied now and then. If you use it all the time, you're going to sound like you just stepped out of a Tim Burton film. While that may not be a bad thing, your readers will likely get lost.

Examples:
All around me, the trees were licorice ropes and the leaves were skillets.
That cat is a cow.
My father is a truck and my mother is a convertible sports car.

Notice none of these phrases have the words like or as. Those aren't metaphors, they're similes.

There's another way to use metaphors that many authors employ: Using things in the story to give a larger abstract idea (definition two). Say two of your characters are battling over a golden idol which, when held, brings the holder great wisdom. At the end, one person gives the idol to the other and walks away. Isn't that the greater wisdom? Your golden idol becomes part of a larger idea: wisdom and what makes one wise.

I hope this was a nice little refresher for you all.

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

Jo

The Bird Official Release and Giveaway

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! As you all know, Tuesday is the day awesomeness is released! That's right, it's book release day! Nationwide, new books are hitting the shelves waiting for eager readers to snatch them up and give them a good home. I hear you all cheering! Well, I'm gonna make my release just a little bit sweeter by: reminding you all to pop over to Goodreads and enter the giveaway there, and by giving you a way to win things you can't get anywhere else here.

Let's get going, shall we? First, a little a lot about the book:

The Bird ~ Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis:
Stormy Terrabonne's life is about to be changed forever by a bright red cardinal. She soon finds herself being whisked away from all she's ever known to save an entire race of people known as Trobodytes. When she's presented to the Queen, Stormy learns how she's expected to help: By killing an evil wizard named Bordash Bladeslinger and stopping him from cutting down the sacred trees that bind Trogon to Earth.

Now, there are only two trees left. One of the trees presents a double dose of jeopardy: It's also tied to the renewed life of Stormy's mother. While Stormy learns more about the gifts she gained by becoming a Trobodyte, someone manages to poison that all important tree.
​
It's a race against time as she faces a legion of fairy tale creatures she never knew existed, learns to harness the power within herself to battle Bordash Bladeslinger, and tries to find a way to heal the dying tree before it collapses and takes her mother with it.

You can find the Kindle version on Amazon HERE for $4.99.
You can find the printed version on CreateSpace HERE for $12.99.

Now, a little about the prizes up for grabs today:
Two people who enter will each win a Kindle copy of The Bird.
One lucky reader will win a printed, signed copy of The Bird, one The Bird bookmark, and one The Bird magnet!

Oh! You want to see what the fun swag looks like? Well, I'm not going to disappoint you! Check it out!
Bookmark is on the left, magnet is on the right!

And now, the rafflecopter entry form:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget, in author Janiera Eldridge's giveaway, you have yet another chance to win a Kindle copy of The Bird and a ton of other books by great indie authors! Here's her rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lots of entry forms today! Go win something!

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

Jo

On Onomatopoeias

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! How are you all today? I hope you're all rested from the weekend. This week I'll be going over some of those things you might be using in your writing and some you may not. So, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going! Today, the onomatopoeia!

My design professor used to give bonus points the first day for anyone who knew what an onomatopoeia was (yes, he was a bit strange; but all good design professors are). So, let's start with the definition:

Onomatopoeia /ˌänəˌmatəˈpēə/ Noun 1. The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle). 2. The use of such words for rhetorical effect.

Okay, now that you know what an onomatopoeia is, how do you insert one when writing? I'm a sucker for consistency. If you do something one way, keep doing it that way throughout the entire novel, please. This talk of consistency goes back to forward vs forwards and backward vs backwards. If you do it one way, stay with that way.

You can set an onomatopoeia apart by either using quotes or italics. Generally, if the word is a recognized one, you don't need to do anything to it to set it apart from its brethren.

Examples of how an onomatopoeia might be used:
John looked at Marsha sitting on the couch and moved in for a kiss. Her sitting down position wasn't doing it for him so he grabbed her hand.
"Oomph!" she said as her body slammed into his.

Marsha walked away from John and headed toward the couch. She sat down with a plop and adjusted her skirt so he couldn't see her knees.

John left Marsha standing with her mouth open and headed for the pool. He hit the water with a sploosh and doused her with spray. He came up on the other side, grinning at the hot mess he'd left behind with his kiss.

There's also no need to use punctuation along with the onomatopoeia. However, it's there if you need it! Just be sure and keep it with the word; either inside the quotes or italics.

I hope this post got you thinking. Tomorrow is the official release day for The Bird! If you haven't already, go enter the giveaway for a copy of The Bird over on Goodreads. I'm giving away two signed copies! Contest ends on the 28th!

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

Jo

Happy Valentine's Day Winners and New Giveaway

20 indie authors have come together to say thank you for following them and supporting their work!

This huge Valentine's day Giveaway will give one winner 20+ prizes including ebooks, paperbacks and swag!

Want yo show your love for books on Valentine's day? Show these authors some love and enter to win these swoon worthy  prizes!

*Ebooks are international however paperback and swag prizes are U.S. Only.

Happy Valentine's Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And the winners of my giveaway are...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations to Heather W! You've won your choice of:
A. A digital identity package designed by moi OR
B. A print book formatted by moi
I'll be in touch to get your choice!

Congratulations to Zarah G! You've won:
A printed, signed copy of The Bird (pre-release)
A Mystic~Bronya poster
A Mystic WSTW bookmark
and three postcards!
I'll be in touch to get your address!

Thank you to all who entered! I do hope you'll enter the giveaway above as well!

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

Jo

MS Word vs Adobe InDesign

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Wednesday is called "hump day"... no, get your mind out of the gutter...! because it's the middle of the week and, if you make it through today, there are only two days until the weekend. Here's wishing you well on your Wednesday! I've heard a ton of talk lately about how MS Word is comparable to InDesign for laying out print books. Well, it's not. While it's great for laying out and formatting digital books, nothing compares to the power of Adobe InDesign for laying out a print book.

Grab your pencils and notebooks because you're gonna want to take notes today!

MS Word is a powerful machine for writing. It's great for term papers or formatting a book for upload to the various digital sellers on the web. It spell checks, indents according to your settings, and is easy to place images in. It also converts to html or rtf rather easily by simply choosing save as and making your selection. But there's one thing MS Word doesn't have that leaves it the squalling, hungry infant when compared to Adobe InDesign: Master Pages.

Master Pages are the end-all be-all of the print world. With a master page, you can tell InDesign what every page of your book should look like and where those individual pages should appear. You can pop in a page number and it will appear in the same place on every single page of your book. Adding artwork is easy; you simply place it on the master page and, voila!, it's on every page you have that master on.

I'm going to use The Bird as an example here because I used two sets of master pages to design it: A and B. Master page A was the common page where text, running headers, and page numbers would appear. B was the opening chapter pages. Time for some screen shots!

This is Adobe InDesign CS5. If you click on the image, you'll see I've identified the marks around the page. This is the opening of chapter two in The Bird.

This is Master Page A. It's the common page and you can see it has running headers, a text box, some nice flourishes at the bottom, and page numbers. It will automatically number each page according to where it falls in the book.

This is Master Page B. It's the chapter openings page. There's a left-hand and a right-hand, just like Master Page A. When I have a place where a chapter starts, I click the corresponding page, drag it, and drop it on the page it should appear on. Like magic, it's all there.

This tells me I'm looking at Master Page A. It's the tiny box in the top right-hand corner of the screen shots above.


When I'm done, I export it to a PDF and upload it to CreateSpace. Master Pages are the bomb. Period. MS Word can't touch this feature. Even with predefined formatting specs.

All the elements of a master page are locked so you don't accidentally move them around. But there's even a way around this! You ctrl+shift+click on any element and it will become editable. How damned cool is that?

In addition, if I wanted to use this exact layout on every book I produce, I can save it as a template that will re-load with all master pages intact. Comes in handy when formatting a series and you want each book to be identical on the inside!

I hope you learned a little bit today and, if you layout your own print books, are now considering an investment. No, I get no kickbacks from Adobe. I don't do that on this blog. I recommend tools I know you'll love if you give them half a chance.

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

Jo

Past, Present, and Future

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm gonna talk about time. I know, I know, we don't have enough of it in a day! On one hand, I wish the days were forty-eight hours! On the other, I kinna don't. You know?

There are so many novels in the world! Where do all the ideas come from? I can't answer for everyone but a lot of my characters and stories come from people I've known and things I've heard. Some of my stories grow from things I read online: News stories, blog posts, Facebook, etc... Just snippets of things here and there, really.

But here's the thing: Your past, present, and future all shape your stories. You may think they don't; but every good character is three-dimensional and every experience you have shapes the way your mind works.

Don't run from it; embrace it.

So what if your main character has attributes of three of your friends from school? That's the way great characters are made. Always consider time because your character didn't just pop into being when you began to write their story down. Okay, they did, but you get what I'm saying.

I've started thinking about this one lady I knew when I wrote the title for today's post. She was thirty-twoish and her husband was a year or two older than she was. We'll call her Remmy. I was blown away by what a kindhearted, sweet individual she was. I could see the love for her husband when she talked about him. They'd been married almost ten years and she was happy as a pig in mud. One day, she comes to work in tears and tells us all her husband suffered a massive heart-attack and died three days before - hence the reason she wasn't at work. He just dropped dead. All I could think was: If something that horrible could happen to her, what chance do I have to be spared? Remmy's attitude didn't change, she didn't grow bitter, and she still smiled every now and then. Those actions showed me who she was down inside. I have since endeavored to be more like her.

Remmy would make a great character because of that flaw and her story. She's a character from my past.

In my present, I've already used someone I know and their story as a basis for a book. Stormy, from The Bird, isn't a character from my past; she's in my present.

When I think about the future, the past and the present shapes it. I remember things that were done to me, by me, and for me. All of the things above are from my time on the planet. I have thirty plus years of characters and experiences and stories told to me to draw from.

There's no such thing as a totally original idea. We're all inspired by something.

Next week, my posts will be inspired by Typography. Join me to learn a little about letterforms!

What have you read or written that was inspired? How did it change you?

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

Jo

Knights in Shining Armor

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today we're gonna talk about white knights on bleached chargers and what causes the little fiends to fall off. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Everyone loves a good hero. But what is the main quality of the heroes you remember the most? I bet it's that they have a flaw. Not a minor flaw, but a fatal one.

Shakespeare did this well. His tragic heroes all had a fatal flaw. One that led to their doom. Now, I'm not saying everyone in your novel must die, just that your hero (and heroine) must have flaws of some kind. This goes back to an earlier post I did on making your characters feel real to your reader. Aristotle wrote about tragedies in his book Poetics.

If you're a writer and you've never googled this, it's time you did. He wasn't a stupid man.

Basically, his idea says that you can't have a tragic hero unless that hero has a fatal flaw. Otherwise, nothing makes sense. But let's get off that and into non-tragedy.

If your hero is to be believable, he needs to commit some act that makes his flaw leap to the forefront. No one is infallible unless they're a saint. Let's face it, saints don't make for good fiction. You want your reader to want the girl to end up with the guy of your choosing but you can't make it easy for her. She needs to struggle with the decision a little. Every real relationship has things that must be overcome in order for it to work. If they fight like cats and dogs, use it to your advantage. If both your main characters have flaws, they can seem incompatible and you can use that to heighten tension.

Of course, a third character acting against the first two can also give your characters much needed tension. But it doesn't have to be a love-triangle scenario. That character can be a girl who doesn't want to lose her BFF or a guy who doesn't want to lose his football game buddy. It can even be a god or a ghost!

But your hero must also have some deep redeeming quality that allows him to rise above everyone else. It's a fine line to walk.

When you're writing a character bio, keep these tension points in mind. Heck, after reading Aristotle's writings, you may decide you want to pen a tragedy! For the love of all that's good, google Poetics and have a read.

Who was your favorite hero? Why?

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

Jo

A Chat

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Just two more days until the weekend arrives! Yay! Wow, great stadium cheer! Anywho, today I'm taking a formatting and writing day. Being indie authors, we have to do so much of our own work it's crazy. I bet you all agree when I say this feels more like a real job than many others I've had throughout the years. Of course, you'll always work harder when you work for yourself!

Different from a nine-to-five job, working for yourself tends to push your hand to sixteen hour days. It's a necessary evil but when you make those sales and the numbers go up it's like no other feeling in the world (except maybe a good review coming in).

Speaking of which, if you download an indie author's book free, please take the time to read it and leave a review. I know my fellow authors agree. We love to hear from our readers! Even if you just take a moment to shoot us an e-mail that speaks your mind, it means more than you think. Having an author that knows who you are and takes the time to talk with you (we're BUSY people) is like having a golden rod in your pocket you can brag about to the world and no one can steal. So, take the time to tell your author what you think. We read our fan mail!

I'm off to work on formatting my novel so all you lovely people can read it on release day! Only so many hours available and the week is almost over!

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

Jo

Hiring a Book or Cover Designer

Happy Friday! It's time for the weekend! I can hear you cheering. Today, I'm going to give you some tips on what to look for when hiring a designer for your manuscript and cover. I'll give you a list of questions you should ask, what you can expect from your designer, and what you should prepare in advance. So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First and foremost, you should prepare a creative brief. Your brief should include:

• Your name and pen name
• Your address and billing information
• The book's title
• Genre
• Blurb
• Any review matter you'd like included
• Cover copy (the text that appears on the back or inside flap)
• Your vision for your book
• Other books in your genre (for reference)
• Headshots, logos, or any other imagery that must be included (like awards the book has won)

Now that you have your brief, you should approach a designer. Before handing over your brief, you need to ask some questions to make sure you're hiring someone that knows their stuff. Ask things like:

• Have you ever formatted for XYZ company's specs before?
• Do you have a design degree? (While this isn't necessary, it doesn't hurt to know going in.)
• What software do you use for design?
• Can I see some of the other work you've done?
• Explain bleed to me. Bleed is the area of the image that hangs over the edge and is cut away during production.
• What is kerning? Kerning is adjusting the space between letters.
• What is tracking? Tracking is adjusting the space between a whole line of letters.
• What's the standard safety margin for live elements? Standard safety is .25" from the edge for books. Some production houses call for .125". Either answer is correct. However, CreateSpace wants .25".

If your designer nails all these questions, you've got someone that most likely knows their stuff.

What you can expect from your designer:
A good designer will give you three very different choices to start with. They'll ask you to narrow it down to one and give you up to two revisions on that one design. Once you decide on a cover, the interior should compliment fonts used and look and feel of the book. Again, I'll use The Bird as an example:

Note the font on the cover of the book and the design elements around the border.

Now note the font on the chapter heading and number and the design elements around the edges of the page.











Watch out for the designers that mix two script fonts, two serif fonts, or two sans serif fonts in their design. This is a basic Typography no-no because it always comes off looking like a mistake.

Your designer should provide you with all files:

• Thumbnails
• Cover sized and formatted for digital uploads
• Cover sized and formatted for display on a website
• Entire cover for production house, formatted properly and in proper color space (CMYK ONLY)
• Cover in black & white
• List of fonts used

They won't give you the original files they built. Don't ask. This is like you writing a story and someone else wanting to tinker with it and release it with your name on it without you approving the changes.

Your contract should include:

• Statements saying the artwork is yours once the work is done and that you're free to use it in any way you see fit at no extra compensation for the designer or any third party.
• Deadlines and penalties for not meeting them.
• A guarantee clause stating all work is original and designed by them.
• A clause stating all artwork contained in the design is free from copyright by third-party entities.
• Number of revisions allowed at no extra charge.
• Payment arrangements in detail.
• Your name, their name, and all addresses associated with you both.
• Number of files you'll receive and sizes/specs.

This is protection for both you and your designer. They should never ever balk at signing a contract.

I hope this helps many indie authors get the quality and professionalism they deserve in a designer. Over on Joel Friedlander's blog today, there's an interesting post about judging a book by it's cover. I beg you to go give it a read.

Any questions? Leave a comment and I'll get back with you ASAP.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway while you're here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Formatting Your Manuscript for Print

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Since it's so close to Friday and Valentine's Day, I thought I'd give you all a little something to look forward to! Let's first discuss that all important thing I like to call formatting a print book then we'll get into the awesome rafflecopter prizes I have up for the winning. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

When you format your manuscript for print, there are a lot of things you need to take into account. Just slapping some text into your book works, but it won't wow your readers and make them want to pick up your book for keeping.

In my book, The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book, I go into how to format your manuscript in MS Word. Why? Because it's a standard item on most computers. I give you the bare bones on how you can produce a legible document for print. Best of all, I made it just $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. But what about getting creative?

If I went into designing a book for print in InDesign, many of you would be scratching your heads. I tried to keep it simple and easy to understand. But there's a lot to be said for either hiring someone who knows InDesign to format your book or buying the program and learning how to do it yourself.

Here are a couple of examples of things that can be done using a program like InDesign to format:

 Chapter 1 Page 1 of The Bird

Chapter 1 Page 6 & 7 of Yassa













I've applied stylized formatting to the Copyright page and the front matter as well. The interior of The Bird is full bleed so the page you see there will be trimmed .125" all the way around. It'll be beautiful and give my book that little something extra.

A good book designer will know odd pages are always on the right, even pages are always on the left, and front matter gets no numbers (unless roman numerals are used - often for a forward or introduction). Ask these questions of your designer before you hire them!

I talk about all these things and SO much more in my book. I designed the print edition small so you can carry it with you or keep it on your desk and it not take up a ton of space. My first printed edition of Yassa is in a larger typeface for those who would like to read without their glasses. I've gotten a ton of thanks for that. In the Mystic series, every book looks the same. The interior is simple because the subject matter is serious. Above all else, it's consistent.

This all leads me to my point: Think long and hard about your print books. If necessary, talk to a graphic designer or reader and ask them what the most alluring covers and interiors entail. Take copious notes and implement them when designing your book.

Now, on to the giveaway! In keeping with the ideas presented in The Indie Author's Guide, I'm giving one lucky winner either a digital identity package OR a book cover design OR a book formatted for print. Another lucky winner will get an advance printed, signed copy of The Bird, a huge Mystic~Bronya cover poster, three postcards featuring Mystic and Yassa, and a Mystic bookmark.

Without further ado, here's the entry form:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
GOOD LUCK!

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

Jo

Entering a Competition - ABNA

Happy Friday, everyone! If you're a writer and you don't already know about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, I don't know what rock you've been dwelling under. It went live just a few days ago and closes to entries on the 27th of January.

I wrote my pitch of 288 words and uploaded a 4k word excerpt and my manuscript for The Bird. I'm feverishly working to get it polished to perfection so I can replace it ASAP. While the draft they have is good, it's a third draft and doesn't have the polish I demand.

So, this is a short post today. I need my editing time. I have a special post for you all tomorrow and will be doing a giveaway so come on back for that. My blog here is one of the hosts for a blog tour! Yay! We'll have some fun!

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

Jo

2013 Reading Challenge: Indie Fever!

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! If you've been around before, you know I've asked indie authors to pitch their books to me for a read and review. I've decided to make it part of the 2013 Reading Challenge. Below, I'll list the books I chose with links and dates that I'll do the posts/reviews for each winner. This contest on my blog happened back in December and I ran across some great indie books that I'd love to help promote.

If you'd like to join the challenge, click the image below and follow the instructions to join the linky list. I'm signing up as an Amateur with a promise to read 8 INDIE books this year. I may read more but this is what's on the table right now. Without further ado, I give you the link and the list!

Kate Baggott - Love From Planet Wine Cooler Amazon link $4.99
This review will go live on or before January 28th, 2013.

Andrea Buginsky - The Chosen Amazon link $0.99
This review will go live on or before February 18, 2013.

Michael Cargill - Underneath Amazon link $3.30
This review will go live on or before March 11, 2013.

Eric Dulin - Condemned (Deus Ex Machina Series) Amazon link $2.99
This review will go live on or before March 25, 2013.

Deborah Armstrong - Forever Love Amazon link $3.49
This review will go live on or before April 22, 2013.

Ginney Etherton - Looping in Limbo (Lainey Tidwell Series) Amazon link $2.99
This review will go live on or before May 20, 2013.

Angela Graff - The Awakening Amazon link $2.99
This review will go live on or before June 10, 2013.

Leonardo Noto - Intrusive Memory Amazon link $4.99
This review will go live on or before July 1, 2013.

I know that seems like a huge gap between reviews but I'm leaving myself some breathing room (I have a couple of indie books not listed here that I may get to in between these AND I have some others from the contest I think I'd like to read). Like it says: On or before. I may have them all done by mid-April but I don't want to make promises I can't keep and I have a rigorous publishing schedule set for myself this year. I wrote a lot of partials last year I intend to finish and I must wrap up the Mystic series with a bang sometime in 2013. 

Go grab some samples of the above works and give them a read. You won't be sorry.

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

Jo 

Your Cover Speaks Volumes

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm going to talk about book covers. Things every author should think about when deciding on a cover for their book. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I'm going to start by discussing my own book covers and a couple I've designed for other authors.
First up, the cover of Yassa.

I chose this design because of the quality of the artwork and what it says to the reader. Yassa is a law that outlines the idea of loyalty until death. The book inside is all about inner struggle, love, and culture. It's supposed to convey the softer side of a warlord like Genghis Khan. I know it's a geisha and I know there are no geisha in the book, but the geisha represented beauty and the cherry tree represented new life. It also worked really well in black and white. Pay attention to the type. It's strong yet beautiful.

The Abigale Chronicles features handwritten type done by a twelve-year-old girl. My main character is twelve and it seemed fitting to stay within the age group to which the book is geared. As the book progressed through volumes 2 and 3, the colors and the design elements are all that changed. I wanted it to be recognizable as a series from no more than a glance and to be unique.

My Mystic series features a digital painting representing the end of the world. I wanted all the books to look alike so I stayed with the idea of only changing the name inside the orb. Thinking of Markaza, I wanted the paranormal/mystical aspect to be clearly recognizable as well as the barren wasteland and dead tree. I chose the greyscale cover to impart death and loneliness. No bright colors would have worked for this design. Look at the flowing type. It says something on its own.

Divorced to Dating Disasters was designed for Ms. Chelsea Black. Her idea was one of chocolates and I had the perfect image to compliment the sweet wreckage her book portrays. Maybe when broken, things are sweeter. Perhaps it just creates a mess... Strong type was used to reinforce the words. Divorce is series, disasters are damaged, and Chelsea is a serious writer.

This bright and fun cover was designed for my good friend Crystal Lee. She gives workshops on how to grow things in the hot Arizona climate. We wanted something that said food, hot, and fun to read as well as making it eye-catching for the browsing readers over on Amazon. It was fun to design and the typography is just gorgeous. Don't you love that negative space between the y and the A? How about the way the O and G mimic the roundness of the peppers?

Last but not least, The Bird. If you're a frequent visitor to the blog, you probably saw the three design options for this book. You probably also voted on one or the other. I used a cardinal because he is the character that changes the story for Stormy. Everything is plodding along as usual before that pesky Trobodyte bird shows up. I chose blue and red because they're neighbors on the color wheel and looked good together. I wanted strong typographical elements to offset the strength of the digital painting of the bird. A border was added for punch.

I bet you're all wondering why I chose to show you these covers, right? I'm asking that you look at them. Really take a moment and look. Every one of them has something in common. Forget the imagery for a moment and focus on just the words. Look at the shapes of the letters and see how they speak on their own. Every typeface has a voice. You have to consider that when you're designing your book covers or when looking over a cover designed for you by an artist. If your cover doesn't work with just the type, your imagery will fall flat every time. Never rely on a great picture to get your feeling across.

I gave three options for each of the above books before I settled on one. You should see the rejects! Maybe one day I'll list them and go into why they didn't work.

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

Jo

12 Days of Christmas Day 11

Isn't it strange that I had exactly ten comments yesterday? Congratulations, commenting people of the blogosphere! You've all won a copy of Mystic~Bronya! I'll be in touch shortly to find out how to get you your prize if I don't know already (if you haven't won before). If I do know, watch your inbox! The winners are: Angela G, bashashhazbaz, Andrea B, Hayley L, Becky F, Tom A, Felicia T, Sarwah O, Marc N, and Mark M!

Tomorrow is the last day of the giveaway. I know, I'm sad, too! But I have a special announcement for you all so make sure you come back for that! Let's get on to today: Thursday, December 20 - Eleven people who comment will win an e-copy of Mystic~Lily!!

As yesterday, before I get to the part where I tell you how to enter, I'm going to list the books that were pitched so far and note the winners.
Andrea Buginsky - The Chosen Amazon link $0.99 *WINNER*
Michael Cargill - Underneath Amazon link $3.30 *WINNER*
Jennifer Lafferty - Offbeat Love Stories and More Amazon link $0.99
Jacques Antoine - Sen No Sen Amazon link $4.99
Brian Bigelow - Horror Bent Amazon link $2.99
Seeley James - The Geneva Decision: Pia Sabel #1 Amazon link $5.99
LJ - Fighting Destiny #1 Amazon link $3.99
Eric Dulin - Condemned (Deus Ex Machina Series) Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
Deborah Armstrong - Forever Love Amazon link $3.49 *WINNER*
Kate Baggott - Love From Planet Wine Cooler Amazon link $4.99
David Manuel - Killer Protocols (Richard Paladin Series) Amazon link $3.99
Aaron Saylor - Sewerville: A Southern Gangster Novel Amazon link $3.99
Ryan Astaphan - Travelphan: Fear, Faith, & Glory in a Journey Across Asia Amazon link $7.99
Michael Meyer - Deadly Eyes Amazon link $2.99
Ginney Etherton - Looping in Limbo (Lainey Tidwell Series) Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
S.J. Hunter - Longevity Amazon link $2.99
Felicia Tatum - The White Aura Amazon link $2.99
Brian Author Levene and Anon Beauty - The Other Girls Get Lucifer Everyday Amazon link $4.99 FREE today!
Troy Jackson - The Elementals Amazon link $4.99
Rebecca Elswick - Mama's Shoes Amazon link $3.79
Angela Graff - The Awakening Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
Hayley Linfield - The Truth about Dandelions Amazon link $5.99
Tom Abrahams - Sedition Amazon link $2.99
Sarwah Osei-Tutu - Bingo: One Woman's Journey Through Life Amazon link $4.99
Marc Nash - Time After Time Amazon link $2.99
Mark Mackey - Kristen Flemings in a Ghost Story Amazon link $0.99

I still have two more to buy. Remember, if you're not a winner yet, that doesn't mean you're out of the running, you're still on the list and I'll be reading a sample of your work. Looping in Limbo got me from the sample, The Awakening got me from the pitch.

Now for today's way to enter:
Tell me what your biggest complaint is about the human race and what book you've read in your lifetime that put things in perspective for you.

If you have a book to pitch, do that in part two of your comment. If not, just let your word-soaked brain go nuts on part one!

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

Jo

12 Days of Christmas Day 10

Holy moly, Batman! Responses yesterday were off the charts! I'm excited so many of you are up for a review. Before I get to the meat and potatoes, here are yesterday's winners: Becky F, Brian B, Kate B, bashashhazbaz, Ginney E, Sheila H, Michael C, Ryan A, and Jacques A. Congratulations to you all! I'll be in touch today to find out where to send your prizes! Snapshot of the random.org drawing:

On to today's prize! For Wednesday, December 19 - Ten people who comment will win an e-copy of Mystic~Bronya! It's the first book of the Mystic series and is Paranormal Fiction.

Now, an impromptu surprise for you all! I'm making a list with links (I know how you all love lists). And the three books I'm buying today are highlighted in the list. Congratulations to those three authors! If you pimped your book, it will remain on my list. I still have four more to choose over the next two days. But come and do the daily tasks at your chance to win some great reads!

Indie authors who pimped their books yesterday were:
Michael Cargill - Underneath Amazon link $3.30 *WINNER*
Jennifer Lafferty - Offbeat Love Stories and More Amazon link $0.99
Jacques Antoine - Sen No Sen Amazon link $4.99
Brian Bigelow - Horror Bent Amazon link $2.99
Seeley James - The Geneva Decision: Pia Sabel #1 Amazon link $5.99
LJ - Fighting Destiny #1 Amazon link $3.99
Eric Dulin - Condemned (Deus Ex Machina Series) Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
Deborah Armstrong - Forever Love Amazon link $3.49 *WINNER*
Kate Baggott - Love From Planet Wine Cooler Amazon link $4.99
David Manuel - Killer Protocols (Richard Paladin Series) Amazon link $3.99
Aaron Saylor - Sewerville: A Southern Gangster Novel Amazon link $3.99
Ryan Astaphan - Travelphan: Fear, Faith, & Glory in a Journey Across Asia Amazon link $7.99
Michael Meyer - Deadly Eyes Amazon link $2.99
Ginney Etherton - Looping in Limbo (Lainey Tidwell Series) Amazon link $2.99
S.J. Hunter - Longevity Amazon link $2.99
Felicia Tatum - The White Aura Amazon link $2.99
Brian Author Levene and Anon Beauty - The Other Girls Get Lucifer Everyday Amazon link $4.99 FREE today!
Troy Jackson - The Elementals Amazon link $4.99
Rebecca Elswick - Mama's Shoes Amazon link $3.79

Remember, the rest of you aren't out of the running, you just didn't get chosen today. I chose three today instead of two because I only got to buy one yesterday! There will be two tomorrow and two the day after.

Lovely readers, here's how you can enter to win today:
Follow my reviews on Goodreads. Go read at least one and give it a like (this way you can see how I write reviews and what I look for) I'll get a notification when you like it. Then come back here and tell me what you liked/didn't like about my review process.

Part 2 of your comment should pimp your book if you haven't already. There are still two days left to win a buy and a review from me.

Good luck to you all!

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

Jo