Carl Franke's Blog, page 9
August 18, 2019
Rosario’s vs. Oreland Pizza
In Be Home By Dinner, the protagonist, Garvey Nolan, frequents Rosario’s pizzeria in Oreland on a few different occasions. Rosario’s is the sole pizzeria in East Oreland and Oreland Pizza (recently revamped) is the sole pizzeria in West Oreland.
On a recent lunch break, I visited Rosario’s. Upon entering, the two cow bells tied to the door clanged and the guys in the back making sandwiches peered over and shouted hello. The sparse tables looked identical to the ones that I sat at during my youth, along with the stacked walls of cardboard pizza boxes, the humming beverage fridge, the counter for paying, the dusty framed photos and the TV in the back corner. I felt as if I stepped back in time, awaiting my old schoolmates to barrel through the door with their Catholic school uniforms on. Rosario’s is a no-frills experience, but you don’t need it with good food. Two plain slices and a drink for $5.00 is a great deal as well. I poured on the garlic salt like old times.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Carl Franke (@genxdada) on Aug 15, 2019 at 4:58pm PDT
Back in the day, a woman named Erin took the orders from the counter, her hair tied back and white apron caked with sauce and dough. She had a pen over her ear and asked what we were up to, always addressing our first names and asking how our parents were doing. I don’t know where she is these days, but she taught me the power of the dedicated repeat customer — an alluring guardian that kept a watchful eye and ear on us.
I decided to put a poll on Facebook to see which Oreland pizzeria was favored the most. I then shared it to the Oreland Group and the stories that poured in were many, respecting both sides. Of 137 votes, Rosario’s won at 60%. Stop in for a slice the next time you’re cruising down Pennsylvania Avenue and feeling hungry.
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August 2, 2019
How To Self Publish Your Novel
If you’re a fiction writer looking to self-publish your first novel, this article is for you.
In researching how to self-publish Be Home By Dinner, I found many articles about different methods of each stage along the way. But I didn’t find articles that captured the full process from start to finish. There’s multiple avenues to go about the self-publishing process. This post explains the route I chose utilizing 7 unique tools.
Although many consider it less prestigious, there are benefits of self-publishing, including:
Creative controlPrint on demand (kill less trees – no waste)Retain rights for adaptationsBetter royaltiesLonger shelf lifeDeadlines and schedules are yours to determineNo agents needed (or months trying to find one)
1. Google Docs
If you have a GMAIL or other Google account, Google Docs provides a simple way to write wherever you have an internet connection. There’s also an offline mode as well. Google Docs continually saves as you write. Spelling and grammar checkers are included so you can see typos as they happen. (Of course, intent is not known by Google Docs or any software. This can cause headaches down the line, which I’ll explain.)
No need to click Ctrl + S to save your work. Just keep on writing.As your digital manuscript gets lengthy, there are chapter bookmarklet tools that add a Table Of Contents for hyperlinking to specific chapters. My novel was just over 87,000 words with 60 punchy short chapters, so this came in handy to hop around the book. This is also essential if you don’t write in chronological order.
Although Google Docs continually saved my progress, I saved copies of the document after each session. This may have been overkill, but provided insurance in case the master file that may get corrupted.
Google Docs Cost: Free
2. Google Sheets
I used Google Sheets to create a quick snapshot of each chapter via a spreadsheet. This included:
Date Range Age Of ProtagonistChapter NumberChapter TitleCharacters IntroducedSettings IntroducedChapter Highlights / Synopsis
No math formulas here. Just text.I also color coded the backgrounds to emphasize which chapter non-adjacent chapters were connected. As my story took place over a 15-year period, this spreadsheet was essential to piece the novel together and view the entirety of it at a singular glance. It served as a personal CliffsNotes.
Google Sheets Cost: Free
3. Pro Writing Aid
After the final draft was complete, I imported the manuscript into Pro Writing Aid. This tool identifies issues and recommendations for:
SpellingGrammarDictionAccidental HomonymsOverused PhrasesCliche UseSticky Sentences (that may slow down a reader)Overused Pronouns (which create a boring read)Alliteration VerificationEchoes (phrases used in close proximity)Pacing (identify slower readability)Sentence Length Gauge (pointing out if they are varied or not)
Pro Writing Aid home page.Any of the above are flagged by unique colors over the text and can be altered immediately. Or, the recommendation can be denied and never appear again.
Pro Writing Aid offers a Google Chrome plugin to add to your Google Doc, but I preferred using the native application.
The one thing that it doesn’t sniff for is context. The first printed edition of Be Home By Dinner had 14 overlooked errors. For example, “cell phone” was stated where “cellophane” was supposed to be. As And this was in a chapter that took place before cell phones were prevalent. (My apologies for anyone that purchased this edition.) But this is the great thing about the print-on-demand service that Amazon offers. I uploaded the new file within an hour and new shipments had the corrected version within a day.
You may chose to bypass using Pro Writing Aid or other similar software, but it offers a wealth of insight into your writing habits and allows for quick adjustments.
Pro Writing Aid Cost: $60 for a full year
4. Photoshop
If you have experience with Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, Gimp (which is free) or any other graphic design software, you can create your own ebook and paperback cover. One ebook cover is all that you need for all digital channels.
For the paperback print cover, Amazon provides extensive guidelines and templates for the back and front covers. Based on the page length, the spine size is revealed via a calculator.
“Be Home By Dinner” layout of front cover, spine and back cover.If you don’t have graphic design skills, you can outsource your cover design to a wealth of designers on Fiverr.com. Rates start at $10.
Photoshop Cost: $20.99 / month
5. Pressbooks
Once you’ve nailed down your final draft, the next step is to find a layout software to that will export your book into the required file types:
PDF (for Amazon Paperback)EPUB (Barnes & Noble NOOK, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo etc.)MOBI (Amazon Kindle)
Layout options for your book include:
20 unique themes for chapter fonts, body fonts, author page, chapter listing, front matter, back matter, each with particular look and feel.
I went with the “Leonard “ theme. The bold chapter title typewriter style font was ideal for suspense novel and the drop cap at each chapter’s beginning was a nice touch.
Pressbooks “Leonard Theme” is great for mystery, thrillers and suspense fiction.If you’ve ever used WordPress for managing web site content, Pressbooks may be the best option, as it’s built with WordPress.
If you’ve used WordPress, this layout and menu should look familiar.Pressbooks allows you to add the META information about your book into the EPUB and MOBI files. This info includes copyright information, book genre, book categories, ISBN (if you already bought one), taglines and descriptions, keywords to aid with search, and more.
Pressbooks Cost: $99 per book (if you want paperback and ebook)
6. Draft2Digital
To distribute your book to all ebook outlets outside of Amazon, such as Barnes & Noble NOOK Books, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo and several others that you likely never heard of, you’ll need to choose an online ebook distributor.
I went with Draft2Digital because of its simplistic setup, easy dashboard and royalties payment method and free ISBN (International Standard Book Number) number. These digits are unique to your book and used as a commercial identifier and are typically around $125.00.
Even though I marketed the option of buying my book on these non-Amazon channels, only about 1% of sales came from these offerings after 90 days. The print version on Amazon and the Kindle were dominant, but this isn’t the case for everyone.
They provide other services as well: Author Pages, Universal Book Links (with direct links to all channels of purchase), buttons for you website and more.
Draft2Digital Setup Cost: Free
Draft2Digital Royalties
Authors earn 85% of ebook price.
7. Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
The evil and tax evading Amazon.com is the essential online store for self publishers. According to Bloomberg.com, Amazon captures 88.9% of ebook sales and 41% of the physical books market.
As with Draft2Digital.com, you get a free ISBN when you publish your book through Amazon. Amazon also had their unique number called ASIN.
There’s an option to join KDP Select which allows for a few unique perks:
5 days of free Kindle downloads (good for exposure and gaining quick readership)Kindle Countdown Deals (good for creating exclusive limited time offers)Kindle Unlimited program – This is like a Netflix for Kindle books and allows subscribers to read as many books as they want. Authors are paid on a per page basis.
Amazon KDP Setup Cost: Free
Ebook Royalties
Books priced from $2.99 to $9.99, authors get 70%.For books priced outside of the above range, authors get 35%.
Paperback Royalties
You get 60% minus the cost of print production. My 6″ x 9″ book of 346 pages with matte finish was $4.99 each to produce.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the above, feel free to contact me or leave a comment below. I tried to keep this as succinct as possible.
The post How To Self Publish Your Novel appeared first on Carl Franke.
July 7, 2019
Glenside Walkabout
Since Melissa and I moved to Glenside in 2012, five new excellent bar / restaurants have opened up in the 19038:
Bernie’s Restaurant and BarRoberts Block Restaurant Glenside Ale HouseThe Ways Brewery and RestaurantBill’s Best Brewery
Since having two kids, we can only seem to get out for a date once a season, so I’m the furthest thing from a regular at any of these joints. But they are highly welcome and makes for one hell of a bar crawl someday.
Last week, we chalked up a date night and headed to The Ways Brewery and Restaurant and Bill’s Best Brewery. Both were wildly different but offered a variety of tasty craft brews.
The Ways had a large teen driven staff. The waiter shrugged and didn’t get my Perfect Strangers reference to the “Little Cousin Larry” beer. Regardless of feeling ancient, the tacos were delicious.
There’s no denying what’s going on inside of The Way’s Brewery and Restaurant.
The Ways Brewery and Restaurant has some beautiful doors. You may find yourself lingering outside of them in awe.Bill’s Best had a tasting room vibe. It’s essentially a large room with a bar and seating behind, a great place to lock in on a Phillies game and talk easily to the patron next to you while gouging on a hot dog or sandwich with heaping toppings.
Both Bill’s Best and The Ways had outdoor seating options.
I forgot to get a photo at Bill’s Best, but here is Melissa just down the street beneath an overpass.We also stopped by a fave, The Blue Comet, where they had a new Hawaiian themed cocktail menu.
Taking a break on a bench at the corner of Glenside Avenue and Easton Road. 
The Blue Comet is night all dim lit. Check out the back garden area and enjoy a cocktail with the birds.
The Blue Comet’s Surf Rock inspired cocktail menu.Our final stop was Bettie Jack in Keswick Village, where we checked out First Friday and to see Be Home By Dinner on display. An old caddie friend of mind was playing Grateful Dead tunes with one of his bands, jamming outside on the sidewalk. The tunes could be heard blocks away as your approached the Keswick Circle.
The back room of Bettie Jack has a bass drum coffee table and a light fixture based on the most Philly centric word ever. 
“Be Home By Dinner” for sale at Bettie Jack
Checking out former caddy, Bernie Gillespie of Shady Groove Duo.
I look the best when I’m blurry.
No date night is complete without an odd photo with a mannequin and a floating popsicle. Right?
Flower box at the corner of Easton Road and Glenside Avenue.The post Glenside Walkabout appeared first on Carl Franke.
Alternative Cover: Sasha
One of the great things about e-books is that you can make edits to any typos or grammatical errors and quickly republish as a new edition. New covers can also be used. For the Amazon Kindle version, I recently changed the cover to the below “Sasha” alternative version. If you’ve read the book, the girl in the photo should bear resemblance to the distracting character in Be Home By Dinner.
The post Alternative Cover: Sasha appeared first on Carl Franke.
June 27, 2019
I Love A Parade
It’s a song my Dad sung when I was a kid as he did monotonous chores. I thought he was quoting Chevy Chase from National Lampoon’s Vacation. But, he was really singing a song from 1931 written by Harry Richman that has been covered by many. Regardless, “I Love A Parade” made for the perfect title for a Be Home By Dinner chapter set on July 4th, 1985 in Oreland, PA, during the frenzy of the parade’s start, when a stolen Hustler magazine seemed more important to protagonist, Garvey Nolan.
The Fourth of July Parade is arguably the best day in Oreland. Unlike the nearby Glenside parade, which starts at 4pm and is laden with alcohol, the Oreland parade starts at a sleepy 10am. Bystanders are more likely to hold thermoses of coffee over beer.
Although not as longstanding and lengthy as the neighboring Glenside parade, the Oreland parade is just enough to have previous and current residents meld together. Also, the route is an intimate journey that weaves through the neighborhood, opposed to just major arteries. Homeowners lucky enough to live on the parade route have a supreme destination for family and friends year after year.
It’s a given that you’ll see the helicopter from the Vietnam War and the countless line of Corvettes. Why the Corvettes (some not even classics yet)? I don’t know.
As a child, my parents let me ride my Big Wheel in the parade and later my black Huffy. As you can see in the photos below, I had a standard Fourth of July striped shirt that spanned years.
Above: Careening through the bicylists in pursuit of ice cream sandwiches, Otter Pops and hot dogs.
Above: I try to look happy while staring into the sun and having my black Huffy transformed.
Above: Going the wrong way down Allison Road. This is awesome!
Scene from Nation Lampoon’s Vacation when Chevy Chase sings “I Love A Parade”.
One of the many versions of “I Love A Parade”, by Joey Heatherton.
In celebration of July 4th, here’s the entirety of Chapter 17: I Love A Parade from Be Home By Dinner. Read and enjoy!
Paperback & Kindle:
Also Available At:
Apple iTunes (Apple Books)
Google Play
Barnes & Noble (NOOK)
Kobo (eReader)
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