Jamie Sheffield's Blog, page 22
December 26, 2012
Logo work and waiting for the printed proofs
The printed proofs of "Here Be Monsters" should arrive in the mail today. I'm eager to see my words in print, and to see how the cover artwork and layout works off of a computer screen.
We noodled around to produce a publishers logo for SmartPig, as CreateSpace allows us the space on the back of the book. SmartPig is an integral part of the Tyler Cunningham books, so it was fun to play with some images and ideas.
I'm very excited to read, and report back about, the proof copy of HBM...
Jamie
We noodled around to produce a publishers logo for SmartPig, as CreateSpace allows us the space on the back of the book. SmartPig is an integral part of the Tyler Cunningham books, so it was fun to play with some images and ideas.
I'm very excited to read, and report back about, the proof copy of HBM...
Jamie
December 23, 2012
Proof Copies are on the Way!
Gail and I have been working hard at putting the final edits and formatting in place for "Here Be Monsters" over the last few weeks, along with working on the cover materials; yesterday we made some last-minute touches, and submitted it all to CreateSpace. We heard back a few hours later that the book was ready for final proofing, and rather than look at it (again) as a PDF, I ordered 2 print copies, and the should be here by Wednesday!
Here's a screen-grab of the cover art, minus the publisher's logo (which is still in progress).
I couldn't be more excited and scared and eager to see this thing that came out of my brain.
Jamie
Here's a screen-grab of the cover art, minus the publisher's logo (which is still in progress).
I couldn't be more excited and scared and eager to see this thing that came out of my brain.
Jamie
December 19, 2012
Done-ish...
I finished my final read-through of "Here Be Monsters" last night; working through the track changes was an interesting and essentially painless process (thanks to a superb editor). Now I'll focus on front and back matter for the book, generating all of those extra pages that go into a book, but aren't actually connected to the story. I'm still waiting on cover art, and am thinking about adding some maps to the book (Gmaps probably).
I'm hoping to get the book to CreateSpace and KDP in the first week (or so) of the New Year, so that people can buy print versions, or download copies, of the book before the end of January.
Thanks for all of the support from friends and family and other interested parties!
Jamie
I'm hoping to get the book to CreateSpace and KDP in the first week (or so) of the New Year, so that people can buy print versions, or download copies, of the book before the end of January.
Thanks for all of the support from friends and family and other interested parties!
Jamie
December 14, 2012
Track Changes and a Final Read-through...
I got "Here Be Monsters" back from my editor a couple of days ago, and have been walking through the corridors of my mind and words, slightly altered by another person since then...it's a bizarre feeling. They've done a superb job editing the novel, but this very personal creation of mine is no longer solely the work of my brain and fingers, which takes a bit of getting used to; thank goodness for my having a reasonably well-developed ego.
I've been reading through the book for the "who-knows-how many-th" time, only in this instance I'm looking for highlighted word or phrases or sections in which the editor suggests changes to my work. Microsoft Word makes this possible, and it is a great way to work with someone on a text. I can (and do, in fact) take most of their suggestions by simply hitting a button to accept the track changes. By the same token, however, I can reject those few suggestions that aren't in keeping with my vision of the novel for whatever reason. It's so much easier than dealing with red pen on printed paper, and allows writer and editor to interact without having to find common time to edit the work.
Another thing I'm finding out about the process (and perhaps everyone else already knows this), is the utility of sidebar notes left by my editor. After her first read of my rough draft, we had a face-to-face conference to discuss the story, looking at discontinuities or underdeveloped characters or scenes or unfair assumptions that I made about reader conclusions. I took a list of issues away from that meeting, and worked through them in my second draft, before giving it back my editor for a detail-level read. Thankfully, I had worked through most of the issues discussed in our earlier meeting, but she still generated a number of questions/issues about the novel; this time embedded in "note" format alongside the relevant section for me to look at as I went through, looking at the track changes.
In the first round of fixes, I addressed issues in whatever order I felt like. This time, in what I consider to be a final read-through, I'm working my way from the first page to the end of the book, dealing with each issue as it comes into view, along with the track changes. It's an interesting process...I'm learning a lot about my book, my editor, and myself.
Jamie
I've been reading through the book for the "who-knows-how many-th" time, only in this instance I'm looking for highlighted word or phrases or sections in which the editor suggests changes to my work. Microsoft Word makes this possible, and it is a great way to work with someone on a text. I can (and do, in fact) take most of their suggestions by simply hitting a button to accept the track changes. By the same token, however, I can reject those few suggestions that aren't in keeping with my vision of the novel for whatever reason. It's so much easier than dealing with red pen on printed paper, and allows writer and editor to interact without having to find common time to edit the work.
Another thing I'm finding out about the process (and perhaps everyone else already knows this), is the utility of sidebar notes left by my editor. After her first read of my rough draft, we had a face-to-face conference to discuss the story, looking at discontinuities or underdeveloped characters or scenes or unfair assumptions that I made about reader conclusions. I took a list of issues away from that meeting, and worked through them in my second draft, before giving it back my editor for a detail-level read. Thankfully, I had worked through most of the issues discussed in our earlier meeting, but she still generated a number of questions/issues about the novel; this time embedded in "note" format alongside the relevant section for me to look at as I went through, looking at the track changes.
In the first round of fixes, I addressed issues in whatever order I felt like. This time, in what I consider to be a final read-through, I'm working my way from the first page to the end of the book, dealing with each issue as it comes into view, along with the track changes. It's an interesting process...I'm learning a lot about my book, my editor, and myself.
Jamie
