Stacey D. Atkinson's Blog, page 10

The proof is he-ah (pronounced à la Denis Quaid)

I love technology! On Tuesday, 10:09 a.m., I ordered a proof of my book from CreateSpace, which is a 'print-on-demand' (POD) company. POD means that books are neither warehoused or stocked--they are literally printed as the demand comes in. When I placed my order on Tuesday, my book was printed, shipped from South Carolina, and delivered to me in Canada by 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. A book that had never before existed arrived on my doorstep the very next day!

I am still in awe of this new print-on-demand technology. The book industry is transforming by leaps and bounds and I am so excited to be part of it.

Now for a reality check: After jumping up and down with excitement after opening the cardboard box to reveal, for the first time, my book in print, I realized it wasn't finished yet. It needed one last review to make sure the text, design, and layout were absolutely perfect.

Upon opening the book, I had to laugh when I immediately found a spelling error! Even though the manuscript had been professionally edited and proofread a million times already, I still found an error. But then I remembered how I had deleted the word 'acknowledgements' by mistake from the table of contents, and then quickly retyped it before sending it to the printer and somehow I had missed the 'd'. Totally my mistake and a valuable lesson to learn about slowing down and working more carefully. It's not a race, right? (although, I often revert to thinking it is.)

Some other problems that I found include a missing price on the back cover, an interior image that was too transparent and needed to be darkened, header text in light grey that needed to be darkened, and paragraph indents that were too big.

Although it means more work, I actually like finding mistakes because it means that I have a chance to fix them before anyone else sees them. Also, nobody's perfect, so if I didn't find any mistakes then I would just think that I wasn't looking hard enough.

Stacey D. Atkinson is completing work on her debut novel Stuck, which she plans to publish through the indie Mirror Image Publishing.   

Suck it up and smile for the camera

Sorry for the late blog post this week but I've been on the road since Friday, travelling from Cape Breton to Halifax to Quebec City and then finally back to Ottawa, for a mix of business and pleasure. But I do have some progress to share with y'all. When I was at Main-a-Dieu Beach, Cape Breton, I finally did a proper photo shoot, and I now have some great authorly shots for my press kit and the back cover of my book. It was weird to be frolicking around on the beach smiling for the camera, but in the end I'm happy with the results. Out of 500 photographs taken, I managed to pose for a few good shots.

Stacey D. Atkinson in a new Canadian author currently working on her first novel Stuck, to be released this September through the indie company Mirror Image Publishing. 

My Kirkus book review

If you've been following my blogs, you know that I'm sharing with people my experiences writing and publishing my first book. So in the spirit of transparency, here is my Kirkus Reviews book review that I just received -- warts and all! But seriously, I am pretty happy with the review and it gives me lots of great quotes I can use to market my book! 

 

A charming, sincere coming-of-age story set in a claustrophobic Canadian fishing town.
Though Odette LeBlanc has just been promoted to night supervisor at the convenience store, where she’s worked since
graduating high school, the smart, hardworking 23-year-old longs for a life less ordinary. But working by night and
sleeping by day in the trailer she shares with her compulsive-gambler mother and dangerously precocious 15-year-old
sister, Odette has a difficult time envisioning anything beyond the drowsy New Brunswick village—until she meets a
rich, handsome stranger visiting for the summer, and a lie of convenience becomes a chance for her to live out a pretend
privileged life. Sailing at the local yacht club instead of sleeping takes a physical and emotional toll, however, and yet
another handsome stranger—a mysterious free spirit who lives on a ramshackle, refurbished fishing boat—gives Odette
a glimpse into a better future that doesn’t depend on money. Though these love interests aren’t far from being stock
characters, Atkinson’s treatment of class is actually quite nuanced, and the rhythm of this debut, revolving around Odette
getting up every evening and going to work the night shift, perfectly captures the hopeless routine in which her life is
suspended. The night-shift scenes of Odette and her co-workers—aimless young people and a few adult immigrants, for
whom the concept of “a better life” differs considerably—are some of Atkinson’s strongest. The other characters outside
the central plot are also vividly conjured, including Odette’s best friend, Anne, whose sense of possibility is wrapped up
in her long-term relationship—something naggingly absent in Odette’s life. Though the novel’s beginning tends to be
heavy on exposition, and the resolution has swift closure thanks to a deus ex machina, Odette’s struggle not just to get
out but first to simply imagine a way out is incredibly touching. The novel might be about a dream of escaping, but
readers will be happy to stay.
A moving story steered by a likable if imperfect heroine whose combination of grit and hard luck will win readers’
hearts.

A charming, sincere coming-of-age story set in a claustrophobic Canadian fishing town.

Though Odette LeBlanc has just been promoted to night supervisor at the convenience store, where she’s worked since graduating high school, the smart, hardworking 23-year-old longs for a life less ordinary. But working by night and sleeping by day in the trailer she shares with her compulsive-gambler mother and dangerously precocious 15-year-old sister, Odette has a difficult time envisioning anything beyond the drowsy New Brunswick village—until she meets a rich, handsome stranger visiting for the summer, and a lie of convenience becomes a chance for her to live out a pretend privileged life. Sailing at the local yacht club instead of sleeping takes a physical and emotional toll, however, and yet another handsome stranger—a mysterious free spirit who lives on a ramshackle, refurbished fishing boat—gives Odette a glimpse into a better future that doesn’t depend on money. Though these love interests aren’t far from being stock characters, Atkinson’s treatment of class is actually quite nuanced, and the rhythm of this debut, revolving around Odette getting up every evening and going to work the night shift, perfectly captures the hopeless routine in which her life is suspended. The night-shift scenes of Odette and her co-workers—aimless young people and a few adult immigrants, for whom the concept of “a better life” differs considerably—are some of Atkinson’s strongest. The other characters outside the central plot are also vividly conjured, including Odette’s best friend, Anne, whose sense of possibility is wrapped up in her long-term relationship—something naggingly absent in Odette’s life. Though the novel’s beginning tends to be heavy on exposition, and the resolution has swift closure thanks to a deus ex machina, Odette’s struggle not just to get out but first to simply imagine a way out is incredibly touching. The novel might be about a dream of escaping, but readers will be happy to stay.

A moving story steered by a likable if imperfect heroine whose combination of grit and hard luck will win readers’ hearts.

Stacey D. Atkinson is finishing work on her debut novel, Stuck, which she plans to publish through the indie company Mirror Image Publishing. 

 

 

Adobe InDesign: a fun/frustrating experience in book design

By way of compromise, and of controlling my publishing budget, I decided to design the interior of the paperback version of my book myself. Although I'd never done anything like this before, I was sure I could rely on what I'd learned from my design degree (which I've never had a chance to use in any of my past jobs), and from my recent 16-hr Adobe InDesign course at Algonquin College. While I am still in the throws of designing the book and learning the software program, I thought I'd share a bit of the adventure with y'all so far.

To start with, you have three options for designing the interior of your paperback book: 1) Set up the file yourself in MS Word, which is a highly accessible, easy-to-use program (see advice from The Book Designer); 2) Set up the file yourself in Adobe InDesign, which is a highly technical, yet flexible, software program that you'll need to purchase (I opted for a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud so that I could have access to the entire Adobe suite); or 3) Hire a professional to design your book interior (as a suggestion, consider TLC Graphics. I met them at the IBPA indie publishing conference in Chicago a few months ago and they are wonderfully talented!)

Since I chose option #2, I committed to learning the secrets of book design and working through the pain of interacting with a new software program, until I could produce a beautifully designed masterpiece (yes, I tend to aim high) that would rival any novel on bookstore shelves today. If you chose the same path as me, I can tell you that you are in for some serious highs, as well as lows, but in the end it will all be worth it.

To give you a sample of the process, last week I wrestled with setting up Master Pages, margins, page width (I chose 5.25"x8"), and 'placing' text into the document to 'auto flow' and add pages throughout the entire document. Unfortunately, this caused my page count to more than double to 462 pages (at which point I had a mild heart attack, since my book cover design, including spine width, was already completed). I began sleuthing around until I realized that the font size and leading (space between the lines) were not properly set to paperback standards (I opted for 11pt font with 13.75 leading), which more or less solved the problem. But then the margins on the Master Page started acting up and would not automatically link to the text frames on the pages. This issue in particular accounted for hours of research and an overwhelming feeling of wanting to retreat to my bedroom with my iPad, turn on Netflix, and watch Arrested Development while eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Yet, I prevailed. I kept clicking menu items until I eventually figured out all the areas that were tripping me up. And, I must say, I'm glad I pushed through because I have now graduated to the finer (fun) points of book design! I get to play with drop caps (first letter of the first word in each new chapter), inserting images onto the title page (I chose an image from the cover, rendered to black and white with 75% opacity), re-sizing chapter headings, etc.

Am I a book nerd? Maybe so. Am I happy? Yes, and that's all that matters.  

So although learning the new software was challenging, I have managed to come out on the other side with relative grace (I work alone, so no one can hear me swearing.) And I can't even express how satisfying it is to see my ugly double-spaced, Times New Roman font, Word document transformed into a beautiful trade paperback novel!

Another new skill set to add to my resume...check!  

Stacey D. Atkinson is currently finishing up work on her debut novel Stuck, which she will independently publish through Mirror Image Publishing. 

The art of the short, really short, story

Coming from the background of a songwriter, I was intrigued to learn this week about 100 Word Story. It's a nice little way to practice flash fiction, as BookBaby calls it, and to challenge yourself on making an impact on readers with so few words. Also this week, I stumbled upon Vine, an app that lets you create 6-second videos, a way to share life in motion through short, beautiful, looping videos. As someone who is tested everyday on my level of patience and persistence (in order to complete my debut novel of 72,544 words), I am wonder-struck by this popular culture phenomenon. 

So, in honor of today's topic, I will keep this short and leave you with these parting words: Keep calm and carry on. Read. And make sure to enjoy life along the way. 

Stacey D. Atkinson is preparing to launch her debut novel Stuck this September, via the indie publishing company Mirror Image Publishing. 

 

Essential snacks for your next writer's retreat

Many people may not know this about me, but I'm kinda known as the Queen of Snacks. Probably because I like to graze (i.e. eat constantly) and I like my food to be healthy and nutritious. This all started about five years ago when I suffered from debilitating migraines. The headaches were becoming so intense and so frequent that I decided they must have been caused by something I was eating. I decided to take my health into my own hands by eliminating just about everything from my diet and slowly bringing only the good foods back into it, one at a time, and measuring their affect on my head. I not only cured my migraines, but I also learned how to cook in the process!

Now I can say with all sincerity that you truly are what you eat. Food can make you feel energized and alert, or it can drain you, leaving you feeling tired and lethargic. So for your next weekend writer's retreat, here are two superpower snacks that will keep you going all day long.

Kitchen Sink Granola

This snack is so powerfully delicious it's like a punch in the face. It's a great afternoon pick-me-up, full of healthy berries and proteins, and you can even eat it with rice milk for a different flavor and consistency. This recipe also works well with substitute ingredients--just use whatever you have in your cupboard! Note: This recipe is a slightly modified version of 'Mom's Granola' from the book The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  

6 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup maple sugar
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup shredded coconut 
1/2 cup sesame or sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped nuts or raisins
1 bar of dark chocolate, cut into small bits
1/3 cup of goji berries
1/4 cup of golden berries
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. 

Spread the oats on a rimmed baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the oats to a large mixing bowl, and add the sugar, wheat germ, coconut, seeds, berries, and nuts or raisins. Stir to mix well, then add the oil, syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is moistened. Spread half of the mixture on each of the 2 rimmed baking sheets (or bake in 2 batches), and bake for 10 minutes. Stir after 5 minutes to brown evenly. Let the baked granola cool on the pans then add the chocolate bits. Transfer to a bowl and stir until crumbly. Store in airtight container. 

Coconut Popcorn

This recipe is ridiculously easy to prepare and is super healthy. It offers a nice light snack at the end of a long day--not too heavy before bedtime.

3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 cup of popcorn kernels
Salt

(Optional: sprinkle with cayenne pepper and sugar)

Add oil and kernels to a large pot on the stove and heat on high. Shake the pot every 30 seconds to make sure the kernels don't stick and burn on the bottom. As the kernels begin to pop, reduce heat slightly, but still keeping the temperature near high. When popping begins to slow down, remove the pot from the heat. Pour popcorn into a bowl and sprinkle with salt.   

And lastly, don't forget to hydrate! Drink lots and lots of water with a slice of lemon or lime through out the day. 

If you haven't already made plans for your next writing session, here is a great article from BookBaby to get you started: 6 Essential Tips for Your Own Stay-At-Home Writer's Retreat.

Stacey D. Atkinson is finishing up work on her debut novel Stuck, due for release in September 2013 through Mirror Image Publishing.