I just signed up to participate in the 28 day Author Blog Challenge that is going to run the month of June. It made me laugh when I decided to blog about the challenge today because I'm blogging about blogging. Just struck me as funny.
Anyway, for all you published, unpublished, crazy, or aspiring writers out there, you should join the group. Find the details here and WRITE ON!!
A blog is a terrible thing to waste. Keeping up with it poses more challenges than I'm willing to admit (wait, did I just admit it...?) but I love doing it. I have knowledge and techniques that I can share with others who are trying to do the same thing I am and, who knows, it might make it easier on all of them if I just take the time to share.
I am excited that Yassa will release on the 4th and you should be too! It's a WONDERFUL read that will make you laugh, cry, get angry, and fall in love.
Good news: It releases just 2 days into the challenge so I should have plenty of time on my hands to blog it on out. I am looking forward to it!
The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two releases end of July and I am hoping to either have Mystic - The Artist or Player ready for release sometime in September. Lots of exciting things happening around here in Jo Michaels Land so stay tuned!
A note to everyone who plans to purchase Yassa, there will be a coupon code good for three months for a FREE copy of Abigale Book One in the back.
That's all for today, folks!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Writing Prompts FUN
Today I shall throw out a few writing prompts for all of you.
I would love to read what you come up with from these.
Rules of MY game:
Keep it to 500 words or less.
You must use ALL five (or six) senses AND be descriptive.
No full paragraphs with backstory. Work it into the tale.
No text speak, please. Be a writer.
Choose only ONE.
You must play nice and if you comment on what someone else writes and it's rude, I will remove your comment AND your post.
Let's get started!!
#1:
Phoebe is a married student going for her PhD. Her husband is Braxton. Braxton has a deep, dark secret that Phoebe discovers. How she finds it, what she does with the information, and what that secret is will be up to you to decide. What she's getting her PhD in is something else you decide.
#2:
Selina is a fairy who has no wings. She is made fun of on a daily basis by her peers who can fly. Her best friend is a snail (you may name him/her) who wants to take over fairyland. Selina must find out why and stop the snail. You decide if she gets her wings and how she accomplishes the task.
#3:
Roger is a spy for a multimillion dollar corporation who is about to turn into the bad guy. He kills people that get in the way of the corporate plan and he fidgets with electronics. Why he turns on his company or what he is going to steal or do to them is up to you to decide. Is he married and does his wife know what he does?
Let's have some fun with this. I can't wait to read what you all write.
Don't forget, Yassa releases next week!! *excited* So, keep your eyes open for that one!
Getting out of here for now, until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
I would love to read what you come up with from these.
Rules of MY game:
Keep it to 500 words or less.
You must use ALL five (or six) senses AND be descriptive.
No full paragraphs with backstory. Work it into the tale.
No text speak, please. Be a writer.
Choose only ONE.
You must play nice and if you comment on what someone else writes and it's rude, I will remove your comment AND your post.
Let's get started!!
#1:
Phoebe is a married student going for her PhD. Her husband is Braxton. Braxton has a deep, dark secret that Phoebe discovers. How she finds it, what she does with the information, and what that secret is will be up to you to decide. What she's getting her PhD in is something else you decide.
#2:
Selina is a fairy who has no wings. She is made fun of on a daily basis by her peers who can fly. Her best friend is a snail (you may name him/her) who wants to take over fairyland. Selina must find out why and stop the snail. You decide if she gets her wings and how she accomplishes the task.
#3:
Roger is a spy for a multimillion dollar corporation who is about to turn into the bad guy. He kills people that get in the way of the corporate plan and he fidgets with electronics. Why he turns on his company or what he is going to steal or do to them is up to you to decide. Is he married and does his wife know what he does?
Let's have some fun with this. I can't wait to read what you all write.
Don't forget, Yassa releases next week!! *excited* So, keep your eyes open for that one!
Getting out of here for now, until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Yippie Ki Yay!
After a weekend of laying on the beach in Florida with the love of my life, I have SO much more in my stash of wonderful things to use in my writings.
Smells, experiences, and tastes are all slamming around inside my head. I am eager to work on my journal of experiences so I'll have something to pull from later with no need to rely on memory alone. While my memory is great now, I don't know if it'll be so great in 20 years.
I posted a while back on reasons for keeping a journal like that when I wrote Write What You Know. I had never been to lay on a beach in Florida or ridden on/driven a Waverunner before this past weekend and the experience left me with a lot of impressions.
1. Waverunners slam into the water when you hit bumps and it feels like your bones are being smashed together.
2. Seafood tastes very different when you eat it near the water it came out of. There's more of a taste of the ocean and not so much a metallic taste or a blandness that comes from being in a can or being frozen and shipped inland.
3. Jumping into a swimming pool after swimming in salt water makes you feel heavier, like you strapped rocks on your feet.
4. There is no sight quite like sand dunes projecting from the ocean while a breeze teases your face to put you totally at ease.
5. Mother nature ROCKS.
I have also discovered that I love the smell of the sea. I don't know if that stems from growing up in Louisiana or from something that is lodged deeper within myself but I know I'm gonna try to figure it out.
My new series titled Mystic has a character from Florida in it. I am very grateful for the experience this weekend brought to my writing.
Remember to get your copy of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One by following either of the links at the top of this blog. Yassa is due out in just ONE week!! BE EXCITED! You've never heard a story like this one!!
That's all for today. Tomorrow, we will discuss something deeper.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!!
Jo
Smells, experiences, and tastes are all slamming around inside my head. I am eager to work on my journal of experiences so I'll have something to pull from later with no need to rely on memory alone. While my memory is great now, I don't know if it'll be so great in 20 years.
I posted a while back on reasons for keeping a journal like that when I wrote Write What You Know. I had never been to lay on a beach in Florida or ridden on/driven a Waverunner before this past weekend and the experience left me with a lot of impressions.
1. Waverunners slam into the water when you hit bumps and it feels like your bones are being smashed together.
2. Seafood tastes very different when you eat it near the water it came out of. There's more of a taste of the ocean and not so much a metallic taste or a blandness that comes from being in a can or being frozen and shipped inland.
3. Jumping into a swimming pool after swimming in salt water makes you feel heavier, like you strapped rocks on your feet.
4. There is no sight quite like sand dunes projecting from the ocean while a breeze teases your face to put you totally at ease.
5. Mother nature ROCKS.
I have also discovered that I love the smell of the sea. I don't know if that stems from growing up in Louisiana or from something that is lodged deeper within myself but I know I'm gonna try to figure it out.
My new series titled Mystic has a character from Florida in it. I am very grateful for the experience this weekend brought to my writing.
Remember to get your copy of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One by following either of the links at the top of this blog. Yassa is due out in just ONE week!! BE EXCITED! You've never heard a story like this one!!
That's all for today. Tomorrow, we will discuss something deeper.
Until next time, WRITE ON!!!
Jo
Friday, May 25, 2012
Design Lesson Number 4 - Fonts
I see so many people make the basic mistake of combining more than two fonts for a book cover or using two different serif or sans-serif fonts on the cover of their book.
There's a reason you shouldn't do that: it looks like a mistake.
Even if it was intentional, it still looks like a mistake. If you use more than one font or hand-lettering plus a font, stick to ONE serif and ONE sans-serif.
What's a serif? Well, that's why I give you nice folks examples :)
Examples:
Well, now you know. Serif fonts can look eerily similar. There are other fonts too: Script and Specialty fonts that should also not be used in combination with more than one of the same.
Please, choose a MAXIMUM of TWO fonts for any project and stick with them. Avoid, at all costs, FREE fonts. The quality SUCKS on most of them and in the rights, you will usually find that they are not licensed to be used in projects for distribution. You could be sued. Same with photographs. Be very very careful and read the rights to the image you're buying.
Remember, we don't want our covers to look DIY.
I hope this helps in some small way. That was the four lessons of the week. Next week, back to writing!!
If any of you would like to have this information made available in a book, leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Of course it would be free, Silly!! :)
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
There's a reason you shouldn't do that: it looks like a mistake.
Even if it was intentional, it still looks like a mistake. If you use more than one font or hand-lettering plus a font, stick to ONE serif and ONE sans-serif.
What's a serif? Well, that's why I give you nice folks examples :)
Examples:
 |
| These are serifs |
Well, now you know. Serif fonts can look eerily similar. There are other fonts too: Script and Specialty fonts that should also not be used in combination with more than one of the same.
Please, choose a MAXIMUM of TWO fonts for any project and stick with them. Avoid, at all costs, FREE fonts. The quality SUCKS on most of them and in the rights, you will usually find that they are not licensed to be used in projects for distribution. You could be sued. Same with photographs. Be very very careful and read the rights to the image you're buying.
Remember, we don't want our covers to look DIY.
I hope this helps in some small way. That was the four lessons of the week. Next week, back to writing!!
If any of you would like to have this information made available in a book, leave a comment and I will see what I can do. Of course it would be free, Silly!! :)
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Design Lesson Number 3 - Color Spaces
RGB and CMYK - What's the difference?
A lot, actually. When you send something to a printer, it needs to be designed in CMYK because that's a 4 color process standard. If you design in RGB and send it away, they will convert it to CMYK before they print it. You can get some UGLY and unwanted results.
You can change the mode in Photoshop by going to Image>Mode>CMYK Do this BEFORE you start designing. I am going to give examples below of what the change can do to specific colors.
Above, you see on the left the colors chosen in RGB color mode. On the right, you will see those SAME colors in CMYK. Beware the change!! If you always design in CMYK, you will never be disappointed with your results.
Colors that are most heavily affected by the change are: greens, blues, yellows, and oranges. Reds get dulled down as well but not quite as badly as the others unless it's a BRIGHT red.
So, start your design in CMYK and let your imagination carry you from there. If you never EVER intend to print your book, RGB it up :)
That's all for today. Time to write!!
Follow me on twitter! @writejomichaels
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
A lot, actually. When you send something to a printer, it needs to be designed in CMYK because that's a 4 color process standard. If you design in RGB and send it away, they will convert it to CMYK before they print it. You can get some UGLY and unwanted results.
You can change the mode in Photoshop by going to Image>Mode>CMYK Do this BEFORE you start designing. I am going to give examples below of what the change can do to specific colors.
Above, you see on the left the colors chosen in RGB color mode. On the right, you will see those SAME colors in CMYK. Beware the change!! If you always design in CMYK, you will never be disappointed with your results.
Colors that are most heavily affected by the change are: greens, blues, yellows, and oranges. Reds get dulled down as well but not quite as badly as the others unless it's a BRIGHT red.
So, start your design in CMYK and let your imagination carry you from there. If you never EVER intend to print your book, RGB it up :)
That's all for today. Time to write!!
Follow me on twitter! @writejomichaels
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Design Lesson Number 2 - Printing
Today, I talk about printing. For you indie authors, you need to listen up just in case you decide to print on CreateSpace or another site and wish to DIY. Remember, our goal is to not make it look DIY.
Bleeds, safeties, and folds, here we come!
What is a bleed? Bleed refers to the area around your artwork that is intended to be cut off. You want to make sure to extend any background color or other elements that you don't mind losing some of all the way to the edge of the template. MACHINES cut the book cover and they aren't as accurate as we'd like them to be sometimes. You will LOSE 1/4" of your artwork so your canvas needs to be 1/4" bigger (1/8" on all sides) than your final size. In other words, a 5.25x8 book needs to be designed at 5.50x8.25. Got it? Avoid bars (frames) that can be lost completely or cut wrong and be odd sizes.
Okay, you have that down. Now, what's a safety? Safety refers to the area that will not be touched by the machine even if it is 1/8" off. Your safety margins should go 1/8" INSIDE the CUT line (NOT the BLEED line). This gives you peace of mind that your words will still be intact when your book rolls off the presses. Be safe, not sorry.
Folds are self-explanatory. Remember that where the fold is, the safety should be 1/8" on EITHER side of that line. There is no guarantee that the paper will be cut just right and you need the flexibility of a schoochable fold. I love making up words...
On to the example!!!
This is what a standard template looks like. Take a minute and take it all in.
Tomorrow, we will discuss color space and WHY it MATTERS!
I hope you are all finding this informative.
Pop on over to:
Goodreads
and sign up for your chance at one of two free signed copies of The Abigale Chronicles! Giveaway ends May 29th! For those of you that prefer e-books, hop over to Smashwords and get a copy for just $1.99.
9am and time to write!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Bleeds, safeties, and folds, here we come!
What is a bleed? Bleed refers to the area around your artwork that is intended to be cut off. You want to make sure to extend any background color or other elements that you don't mind losing some of all the way to the edge of the template. MACHINES cut the book cover and they aren't as accurate as we'd like them to be sometimes. You will LOSE 1/4" of your artwork so your canvas needs to be 1/4" bigger (1/8" on all sides) than your final size. In other words, a 5.25x8 book needs to be designed at 5.50x8.25. Got it? Avoid bars (frames) that can be lost completely or cut wrong and be odd sizes.
Okay, you have that down. Now, what's a safety? Safety refers to the area that will not be touched by the machine even if it is 1/8" off. Your safety margins should go 1/8" INSIDE the CUT line (NOT the BLEED line). This gives you peace of mind that your words will still be intact when your book rolls off the presses. Be safe, not sorry.
Folds are self-explanatory. Remember that where the fold is, the safety should be 1/8" on EITHER side of that line. There is no guarantee that the paper will be cut just right and you need the flexibility of a schoochable fold. I love making up words...
On to the example!!!
This is what a standard template looks like. Take a minute and take it all in.
Tomorrow, we will discuss color space and WHY it MATTERS!
I hope you are all finding this informative.
Pop on over to:
Goodreads
and sign up for your chance at one of two free signed copies of The Abigale Chronicles! Giveaway ends May 29th! For those of you that prefer e-books, hop over to Smashwords and get a copy for just $1.99.
9am and time to write!!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Design Lesson Number 1 - KERNING
I have decided to give four design lessons this week for all you indie authors. I know, I know, I am too kind...
Seriously, if you don't know the rules of design, your book covers will look like they were designed by you. We don't want that. We want them to look like they were done professionally even though they were done by you.
Today's lesson is on kerning. What the hell is kerning, Jo? Well, I'll explain... Of course I'm going to use examples, silly monkey!!
The sample text below shows kerned type and type that has yet to be kerned. The top one is set at 0 all the way across.
In order to kern, you must select the character preceding the letter you want to move closer, then click the kerning drop down and select a number. Sometimes you want to space letters out more, sometimes you want to move them closer. No matter what you desire to accomplish, it can be done with the kerning panel.
I see so many great book covers that would be SO much better with a little bit of kerning. Your art director will spend HOURS adjusting and re-adjusting so your book cover looks just right. Do a little kerning and you'll reach a whole new level with your work.
Tomorrow, I will discuss BLEED and SAFETY and how to use a template.
I hope this was informative.
Don't forget to pick up your copy of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One on Smashwords or iBooks for just $1.99! If you're a tangible book person, you can also pick up a copy on Create Space for just $5.99!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
@writejomichaels
Seriously, if you don't know the rules of design, your book covers will look like they were designed by you. We don't want that. We want them to look like they were done professionally even though they were done by you.
Today's lesson is on kerning. What the hell is kerning, Jo? Well, I'll explain... Of course I'm going to use examples, silly monkey!!
The sample text below shows kerned type and type that has yet to be kerned. The top one is set at 0 all the way across.
The bottom example is set at -25 throughout then adjusted a LOT in the places marked with red and a LITTLE in the places unmarked. Some are at -50, some are at -75, and some are at -100. I went with visually pleasing.
Now, you can see that the bottom text is prettier. I used Arial to make it easier to play with for you.
In the example below, you see panels that are in Photoshop. If you can't see this, go to Window>Character and it will show. Click it!!!! Quick!!!
When you click it, you get this panel. Pretty freakin' cool, right?
This panel shows you the font (Arial) the style (Regular)
Font size (18) Leading (18) Super or subscript position (0) and KERNING (-50)
All that other stuff, we will address on another day. Right now, look at the KERNING panel ONLY.
In order to kern, you must select the character preceding the letter you want to move closer, then click the kerning drop down and select a number. Sometimes you want to space letters out more, sometimes you want to move them closer. No matter what you desire to accomplish, it can be done with the kerning panel.
I see so many great book covers that would be SO much better with a little bit of kerning. Your art director will spend HOURS adjusting and re-adjusting so your book cover looks just right. Do a little kerning and you'll reach a whole new level with your work.
Tomorrow, I will discuss BLEED and SAFETY and how to use a template.
I hope this was informative.
Don't forget to pick up your copy of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One on Smashwords or iBooks for just $1.99! If you're a tangible book person, you can also pick up a copy on Create Space for just $5.99!
Until next time, WRITE ON!!
Jo
@writejomichaels
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