Barbara Eberhard's Blog, page 3
December 17, 2023
Vanity Project?
I've been writing books for almost 15 years now. I started writing my first novel in 2012 with the intent of publishing for my 50th birthday, which I did. I have always self-published, in part because I don't think finding a traditional publisher would be easy and in part because that way I have complete control of the process and the product. But it also means I sell few copies, and that means I make almost no money from my writing.
When I published my first novel, Life Reimagined, I had fantasies of it being "found" by some publisher, who would love it so much they wouldn't want to change a thing and would publish and promote it. I would make money - not a lot, perhaps, but more than I do now.
Then, I received high praise from the mother of a friend, who read the book "by accident" because they shared a Kindle library. She loved the book and asked my friend how she had found this author her mother had never heard of. My friend confessed that she knew me because she was my friend. :) Still, her mother read several of my other books and continued to tell my friend that she enjoyed my writing. It was a wonderful compliment.
Then, I started doing giveaways on Goodreads. In exchange for a free Kindle version of a novel, the giveaway awardees are supposed to write a review of the book. I've given away 100 copies of each of my books for several books now (I didn't do this for Maverick for the Built Environment, which is nonfiction). And gotten at most, three or four reviews of each. The reviews have primarily been positive, however, and the ratings have been mostly 4s and 5s. So, that gives me some hope that my writing is enjoyed by complete strangers.
But still I self-publish. And I make little money. And so, to a large extent, I've always said my writing is really a "vanity project".
If you look up the definition of a "vanity project", though, it says a vanity project is something released but failed. Usually financed by someone who has more money than sense. And just can't let go of what they "know" is a bad project.
In my case, however, I would define vanity project as something I do because I need to and because I enjoy it, and don't worry about whether it's going to make money or not. I self-publish because I love that my words are out in the universe. And seeing my name on the cover and spine of a book still brings a thrill, in my English major heart.
So, I guess it's vanity that I continue to self-publish with so little feedback on my work, except the three or four reviews I might get. But, you know what? I'm not hurting anyone by writing and self-publishing. So, I'm okay with that.
When I published my first novel, Life Reimagined, I had fantasies of it being "found" by some publisher, who would love it so much they wouldn't want to change a thing and would publish and promote it. I would make money - not a lot, perhaps, but more than I do now.
Then, I received high praise from the mother of a friend, who read the book "by accident" because they shared a Kindle library. She loved the book and asked my friend how she had found this author her mother had never heard of. My friend confessed that she knew me because she was my friend. :) Still, her mother read several of my other books and continued to tell my friend that she enjoyed my writing. It was a wonderful compliment.
Then, I started doing giveaways on Goodreads. In exchange for a free Kindle version of a novel, the giveaway awardees are supposed to write a review of the book. I've given away 100 copies of each of my books for several books now (I didn't do this for Maverick for the Built Environment, which is nonfiction). And gotten at most, three or four reviews of each. The reviews have primarily been positive, however, and the ratings have been mostly 4s and 5s. So, that gives me some hope that my writing is enjoyed by complete strangers.
But still I self-publish. And I make little money. And so, to a large extent, I've always said my writing is really a "vanity project".
If you look up the definition of a "vanity project", though, it says a vanity project is something released but failed. Usually financed by someone who has more money than sense. And just can't let go of what they "know" is a bad project.
In my case, however, I would define vanity project as something I do because I need to and because I enjoy it, and don't worry about whether it's going to make money or not. I self-publish because I love that my words are out in the universe. And seeing my name on the cover and spine of a book still brings a thrill, in my English major heart.
So, I guess it's vanity that I continue to self-publish with so little feedback on my work, except the three or four reviews I might get. But, you know what? I'm not hurting anyone by writing and self-publishing. So, I'm okay with that.
December 9, 2023
Fascinating Fantasy
I've written two fantasy trilogies: Reunion, and Jewels and Gods. Both of those involved familiars and gemstones that enhance magic, and gods for each country in the world. I'm starting now on a new fantasy trilogy - using different fantasy tropes.
This will be a sword and sorcery series. Our heroes will either forge or be gifted swords that enhance their magical powers. At the start, our heroes don't know they are mages - they will learn magic as they learn to fight for both are intrinsic to their being.
The trilogy's teachers are "naga" - which I'm extending to include not only sea-based dragons as in eastern mythologies, but also land-based dragons. In my world, both sets of naga have magic, and both are integral to the quest to restore magic to humans. Which is the quest for this trilogy.
The main driver of the trilogy is dichotomies. The world is half land, half sea. The people have different skills, different beliefs - driven by the "world" in which they live. The two types of people distrust each other deeply.
It's an interesting challenge starting a new world. I remember, by the second book of my first trilogy, the characters were practically writing their own scenes, so immersed was I in this world I'd created. It was in that book that I experienced - for the first time - a character "deciding" her path was different than the one I had originally planned. A fascinating writing experience, to be sure.
The second trilogy was set in the same world as my first, though the quest was among the next generation of mages. This world, however, was slightly different, as magic was different, unified - in fulfillment of the quest of the first trilogy. And so, the world was both the same and different. And most of the characters - the ones on the quest - were different. I had to learn their rhythms and tones. But the gods were the same, and the characteristics of each country's people was the same. To be in the same world - a world I created - and have to find its new patterns was as fascinating as had been the first trilogy. I had somehow assumed that because it was the same world in which I had already written three books, it would be easy to find my way in this second trilogy. It was, and it wasn't.
Now, I have created a whole new world, and its magic is not the same as the magic I have used before. I've only just started writing. But the differences are - well - fascinating.
This will be a sword and sorcery series. Our heroes will either forge or be gifted swords that enhance their magical powers. At the start, our heroes don't know they are mages - they will learn magic as they learn to fight for both are intrinsic to their being.
The trilogy's teachers are "naga" - which I'm extending to include not only sea-based dragons as in eastern mythologies, but also land-based dragons. In my world, both sets of naga have magic, and both are integral to the quest to restore magic to humans. Which is the quest for this trilogy.
The main driver of the trilogy is dichotomies. The world is half land, half sea. The people have different skills, different beliefs - driven by the "world" in which they live. The two types of people distrust each other deeply.
It's an interesting challenge starting a new world. I remember, by the second book of my first trilogy, the characters were practically writing their own scenes, so immersed was I in this world I'd created. It was in that book that I experienced - for the first time - a character "deciding" her path was different than the one I had originally planned. A fascinating writing experience, to be sure.
The second trilogy was set in the same world as my first, though the quest was among the next generation of mages. This world, however, was slightly different, as magic was different, unified - in fulfillment of the quest of the first trilogy. And so, the world was both the same and different. And most of the characters - the ones on the quest - were different. I had to learn their rhythms and tones. But the gods were the same, and the characteristics of each country's people was the same. To be in the same world - a world I created - and have to find its new patterns was as fascinating as had been the first trilogy. I had somehow assumed that because it was the same world in which I had already written three books, it would be easy to find my way in this second trilogy. It was, and it wasn't.
Now, I have created a whole new world, and its magic is not the same as the magic I have used before. I've only just started writing. But the differences are - well - fascinating.
November 11, 2023
Reshaping the Journal
I realized today that I had abbreviated some of the most important sections of Journal of Grief, those related to my father's death.
As I've talked to people about writing this book, the scope or tenor has changed a bit. Originally, I was thinking it would be about my family and the pain of losing both parents in a month, during Covid-19. And all of that is still true.
But several people have talked about the importance of documenting the craziness that was this period in history. Not only about how Covid-19 shut down the world, and even today is still impacting some aspects of life. But also what that really meant.
The pertinent example in our family's life is Dad's death. Normally, when a family member is dying, the family gathers to be with the dying person - and to be with each other. We had had some of this when Mom was dying. Since she took 10 days to die, and John and Michelle were able to get her into hospice at their home, the rest of the siblings had the opportunity to see her before she passed. We didn't get to do the collective grieving part of a "normal" grieving, as we tried to keep the possibly of virus transmission down. Eric and I went one day, and never returned. Richard came a day later, but only stayed for a day. Carol came next, though she stayed for the remainder of the time Mom took to die. This was the best we could do under the circumstances, but it did allow each of us to "say goodbye". When I left that day, I knew I would never see my mother again.
But Covid-19 impacted us much more profoundly when it came to our father. First, we couldn't go see him when we knew he was dying. The facility was on lockdown because of Covid-19. Second, even if the facility hadn't been locked down, it would have been not recommended for us to visit because Dad had Covid-19, and there were no vaccines yet. We could have - I suppose - found PPE and gone to see him, but it would have been very difficult. Third, because we couldn't visit, we couldn't hold his hand as he died, like Carol did with Mom. Fourth, we couldn't - as we couldn't with Mom - be together in our grief. Except over Zoom, which is just not the same.
In my first draft, I had written about all of that in a single paragraph, much like the paragraph above. But that isn't enough to truly describe the impact that Covid-19 had on our family during this time. So, today, I expanded that paragraph into a chapter, to fully describe how terrible it was to not be able to visit, to not be able to mourn together, and to not be able to memorialize our parents in the usual ways.
I also added some chapters on other ways Covid-19 disrupted our lives, to be sure to cover the recommendations by my friends that Journal of Grief include a reckoning of all the ways Covid-19 affected us all.
As I've talked to people about writing this book, the scope or tenor has changed a bit. Originally, I was thinking it would be about my family and the pain of losing both parents in a month, during Covid-19. And all of that is still true.
But several people have talked about the importance of documenting the craziness that was this period in history. Not only about how Covid-19 shut down the world, and even today is still impacting some aspects of life. But also what that really meant.
The pertinent example in our family's life is Dad's death. Normally, when a family member is dying, the family gathers to be with the dying person - and to be with each other. We had had some of this when Mom was dying. Since she took 10 days to die, and John and Michelle were able to get her into hospice at their home, the rest of the siblings had the opportunity to see her before she passed. We didn't get to do the collective grieving part of a "normal" grieving, as we tried to keep the possibly of virus transmission down. Eric and I went one day, and never returned. Richard came a day later, but only stayed for a day. Carol came next, though she stayed for the remainder of the time Mom took to die. This was the best we could do under the circumstances, but it did allow each of us to "say goodbye". When I left that day, I knew I would never see my mother again.
But Covid-19 impacted us much more profoundly when it came to our father. First, we couldn't go see him when we knew he was dying. The facility was on lockdown because of Covid-19. Second, even if the facility hadn't been locked down, it would have been not recommended for us to visit because Dad had Covid-19, and there were no vaccines yet. We could have - I suppose - found PPE and gone to see him, but it would have been very difficult. Third, because we couldn't visit, we couldn't hold his hand as he died, like Carol did with Mom. Fourth, we couldn't - as we couldn't with Mom - be together in our grief. Except over Zoom, which is just not the same.
In my first draft, I had written about all of that in a single paragraph, much like the paragraph above. But that isn't enough to truly describe the impact that Covid-19 had on our family during this time. So, today, I expanded that paragraph into a chapter, to fully describe how terrible it was to not be able to visit, to not be able to mourn together, and to not be able to memorialize our parents in the usual ways.
I also added some chapters on other ways Covid-19 disrupted our lives, to be sure to cover the recommendations by my friends that Journal of Grief include a reckoning of all the ways Covid-19 affected us all.
November 4, 2023
Revisiting 2020 Emails
As I continue to write Journal of Grief, I have been referencing my emails from those days.
I have two sets of emails. One bucket is labeled "Parents Information", which includes emails from the last few years of their lives. It has emails from Mom's doctors. Emails from Asbury Methodist Village. And emails from and to my family about Mom and Dad, and the things that were happening in their lives.
The second bucket is labeled "Family Stuff". In summer 2020, I migrated emails about the family from my "Parents Information" label to the "Family Stuff" label, reflecting our change in life. Here are the responses I got from the Zoom invitations for a memorial for our parents in the fall of 2020. Ironically, we held it on what would have been Don Schon's 90th birthday - Don was Dad's best friend and shows up quite a bit in the biography I wrote for Dad, Maverick for the Built Environment.
Between these two repositories are the history of 2020 as my family experienced it. They are accompanied by the text exchanges among the four siblings and the ones I had with Asbury as Dad was dying, and Notes in my iPhone of Mom's health, which included some about Dad as well.
As I read through the emails, I remember those days. I've cried many times as I read them. Journal of Grief does seem to be an apropos title, after all.
I have two sets of emails. One bucket is labeled "Parents Information", which includes emails from the last few years of their lives. It has emails from Mom's doctors. Emails from Asbury Methodist Village. And emails from and to my family about Mom and Dad, and the things that were happening in their lives.
The second bucket is labeled "Family Stuff". In summer 2020, I migrated emails about the family from my "Parents Information" label to the "Family Stuff" label, reflecting our change in life. Here are the responses I got from the Zoom invitations for a memorial for our parents in the fall of 2020. Ironically, we held it on what would have been Don Schon's 90th birthday - Don was Dad's best friend and shows up quite a bit in the biography I wrote for Dad, Maverick for the Built Environment.
Between these two repositories are the history of 2020 as my family experienced it. They are accompanied by the text exchanges among the four siblings and the ones I had with Asbury as Dad was dying, and Notes in my iPhone of Mom's health, which included some about Dad as well.
As I read through the emails, I remember those days. I've cried many times as I read them. Journal of Grief does seem to be an apropos title, after all.
October 29, 2023
The Need to Belong
I just finished writing the first chapter of Kymri's story, the first book of my new Dichotomies trilogy called (for now) Kymri Finds a Home. The first chapter is written in first person, though the rest of the book will not be. It tells the story of how Kymri came to the Avrom Range, the mountain spine of the country of Vomgar. Kymri was kicked out by her family and then her village, the village on Morcan on the edge of the Wermoc, nestled between two rivers that give the land life.
Kymri's family are farmers, as are most of the people of Morcan. Morcan lies in a fertile crescent of land, fed by a series of freshwater rivers that flow from the Arvom Range and empty into the Wermoc. Kymri is the third of three children. Her birth was difficult, and her sight was ruined as a result. Blind, Kymri is considered useless in her farming village. She cannot tend the crops. She cannot learn her lessons. She cannot provide for her family. And so, they throw her out once she is old enough to survive on her own in her mid-teens.
Kymri climbs into the Arvom Range, driven by a compulsion she can't explain. She wanders for weeks, cold, starved, and miserable.
Until she happens upon Sze's cave. There, she finds laughter and a teacher. For Sze has come from his country, Seic, to train Kymri. He knew she would come someday. And today was that day.
Sze will be Kymri's teacher. Until she becomes a fierce warrior, schooled in fighting and magic. She doesn't know that part yet.
Today, all she knows is the joy of finally being somewhere where she is wanted. A belonging.
Kymri's family are farmers, as are most of the people of Morcan. Morcan lies in a fertile crescent of land, fed by a series of freshwater rivers that flow from the Arvom Range and empty into the Wermoc. Kymri is the third of three children. Her birth was difficult, and her sight was ruined as a result. Blind, Kymri is considered useless in her farming village. She cannot tend the crops. She cannot learn her lessons. She cannot provide for her family. And so, they throw her out once she is old enough to survive on her own in her mid-teens.
Kymri climbs into the Arvom Range, driven by a compulsion she can't explain. She wanders for weeks, cold, starved, and miserable.
Until she happens upon Sze's cave. There, she finds laughter and a teacher. For Sze has come from his country, Seic, to train Kymri. He knew she would come someday. And today was that day.
Sze will be Kymri's teacher. Until she becomes a fierce warrior, schooled in fighting and magic. She doesn't know that part yet.
Today, all she knows is the joy of finally being somewhere where she is wanted. A belonging.
October 21, 2023
Memories
As I write Journal of Grief, I'm writing my memories. Mostly. Some of the things are pulled from emails and other records. I've included some articles from 2020 to give context at times.
But mostly I'm writing my memories. And memories - as we all know - can be subject to misremembering. I think the older memories are probably clearer, as they've been reinforced over the years as I've told my husband and other people about them. I just today wrote about my weekly calls with my mother and about going to church with her. The memories associated with those things are pretty clear.
I'm also trying not to embellish what happened. Channeling Joe Friday, "Just the facts, ma'am." What happened in 2020 was horrific enough. It doesn't really need a lot of editorializing. Just the sheer number of infections and deaths. The craziness of the public health situation. No need to add much to any of that.
But my memories are the bulk of what is essentially a memoir. And because they are my memories, I'm sure that other people will remember them differently, even those that were intimately involved.
I can only hope that they see in my memories glimpses of their own memories. And so believe them to be the truth - as I saw it.
But mostly I'm writing my memories. And memories - as we all know - can be subject to misremembering. I think the older memories are probably clearer, as they've been reinforced over the years as I've told my husband and other people about them. I just today wrote about my weekly calls with my mother and about going to church with her. The memories associated with those things are pretty clear.
I'm also trying not to embellish what happened. Channeling Joe Friday, "Just the facts, ma'am." What happened in 2020 was horrific enough. It doesn't really need a lot of editorializing. Just the sheer number of infections and deaths. The craziness of the public health situation. No need to add much to any of that.
But my memories are the bulk of what is essentially a memoir. And because they are my memories, I'm sure that other people will remember them differently, even those that were intimately involved.
I can only hope that they see in my memories glimpses of their own memories. And so believe them to be the truth - as I saw it.
October 16, 2023
Autobiographical Writing
I'm writing a companion book to the biography of my dad. It's called Journal of Grief, and it's about 2020. Primarily, it's about my parents and their deaths within weeks of each other. But it's also about me and my relationship with them, my siblings, and my husband. And about how COVID-19 affected us and the world. In other words, it's autobiographical.
I've read a lot of biographies and autobiographies. And I wrote a biography, Maverick for the Built Environment, as anyone who reads this blog likely knows. My first novel was largely based on a what-if of my real life, so it definitely had autobiographical elements. There have been other novels with autobiographical references.
But this time, the writing is truly autobiographical. And very personal. Vulnerable.
I'm trying to remember all that happened, too. It's been three years, and while some things are crystal clear memories, others are not. Fortunately, I have my email from those days, and texts, and there's Facebook, too.
In fact, Facebook is sort of the organizing principle of the journal, as I posted the journey we all took - meaning not only my family, but the world. I share my posts and other writings as milestones or subject matter.
Today, for example, I wrote about "Seed". After my father passed away, my office sent me a memorial seed to be planted in his honor. I dutifully planted it as instructed, though I have a "black thumb". And lo and behold, the plant was two plants. I wrote on Facebook that the plant "knew" I had lost two people, as I had lost my mother a couple of weeks earlier. Two memorial plants were needed. What I didn't write on Facebook was that Eric and I called the plant "Seed" and how the fact that the two plants were touching reminded me of my parents holding hands. And that it was fitting, and lovely, that the two plants were obviously not the same plant - not two offshoots of the same seed. Because my parents were two very different people, who grew next to each other. And yet, in time, one shoot became larger than the other, as some might say happened with my father overshadowing my mother, or at least being the one who made most of the "family" decisions.
It's interesting to use my posts as fodder for this journal and as an organizing principle for the story of my family in 2020.
I've read a lot of biographies and autobiographies. And I wrote a biography, Maverick for the Built Environment, as anyone who reads this blog likely knows. My first novel was largely based on a what-if of my real life, so it definitely had autobiographical elements. There have been other novels with autobiographical references.
But this time, the writing is truly autobiographical. And very personal. Vulnerable.
I'm trying to remember all that happened, too. It's been three years, and while some things are crystal clear memories, others are not. Fortunately, I have my email from those days, and texts, and there's Facebook, too.
In fact, Facebook is sort of the organizing principle of the journal, as I posted the journey we all took - meaning not only my family, but the world. I share my posts and other writings as milestones or subject matter.
Today, for example, I wrote about "Seed". After my father passed away, my office sent me a memorial seed to be planted in his honor. I dutifully planted it as instructed, though I have a "black thumb". And lo and behold, the plant was two plants. I wrote on Facebook that the plant "knew" I had lost two people, as I had lost my mother a couple of weeks earlier. Two memorial plants were needed. What I didn't write on Facebook was that Eric and I called the plant "Seed" and how the fact that the two plants were touching reminded me of my parents holding hands. And that it was fitting, and lovely, that the two plants were obviously not the same plant - not two offshoots of the same seed. Because my parents were two very different people, who grew next to each other. And yet, in time, one shoot became larger than the other, as some might say happened with my father overshadowing my mother, or at least being the one who made most of the "family" decisions.
It's interesting to use my posts as fodder for this journal and as an organizing principle for the story of my family in 2020.
October 9, 2023
Cover Design Challenges
I design my own covers. It's part of my being frugal since I don't make much money from my books.
KDP has a variety of cover options. First, you can pick a general layout you like. Then, within that layout, there are options that change the placement of the author name, title, secondary title, etc.
Today, I designed the covers for the upcoming fantasy series, Dichotomies. I have used the same basic layout for my fantasy books since the beginning, with a solid banner across the top of the cover, a thin line in a different color, and then an image or photograph. In the top solid banner lies the author name. On the front cover, the title goes in the middle of the layout, with the secondary title at the bottom. I like this look because it's clean and the author name isn't that prominent. In some configurations, the author name is the largest thing on the cover - yuk!
On the back cover of this design is the book description, a block meant for an author biography but which I use for book reviews, and a photo square, where I put my flower logo.
The image or photo is obviously an important decision. This, more than anything else I think, draws the reader's attention. Since this trilogy is about dichotomies that starts with half the world living on land and half the world living on water, I decided to use that as my organizing principle for the photos. I had thought about using dragons images - even downloaded a bunch of options from Pixabay - but the images weren't high resolution, and I couldn't find ones I liked that were. So, instead, I decided to use some of the default images supplied by KDP. In keeping with the theme of dichotomy, and because each book will follow the story of a particular character, the photos reflect the basic dichotomy of each character. That is, Book One is a land-based image, in this case of a mountain since the main character has fled to the mountains after being ostracized by her village. Book Two's cover image is just the water, in this case at sunset. It was challenging to find a photo with no land in sight. But that's an important part of Book Two's dichotomy, as the main character has never been on land. The cover image for Book Three, where the dichotomies start to converge, has both land and water in it. The main character of Book Three shows characteristics of both land people and sea people, and is seen as dangerous because of it.
The last decision needed for these covers is the color scheme. KDP provides a bunch of predefined selections, and I decided this go-round to just use one of theirs for each of the books. But I also want the colors to somewhat match the images. One of the drawbacks of KDP's covers is that each block of text on the cover can only be one color. And of course, the text has to show over the image chosen. The default is to have all the text be the same color, though I've often customized that as part of my cover design.
But the hardest part is that the choices made for one format - as I've vented about before - don't carry over to the other formats. So, for each book, you have to remember what image, colors, and layout you chose to replicate it for the other two formats. What I've chosen to do, though is have the paperback and Kindle versions look pretty much the same, and the same as the other fantasy books/series I've written. But I chose a completely different format for the hardcovers.
We'll see if that decision sticks.
KDP has a variety of cover options. First, you can pick a general layout you like. Then, within that layout, there are options that change the placement of the author name, title, secondary title, etc.
Today, I designed the covers for the upcoming fantasy series, Dichotomies. I have used the same basic layout for my fantasy books since the beginning, with a solid banner across the top of the cover, a thin line in a different color, and then an image or photograph. In the top solid banner lies the author name. On the front cover, the title goes in the middle of the layout, with the secondary title at the bottom. I like this look because it's clean and the author name isn't that prominent. In some configurations, the author name is the largest thing on the cover - yuk!
On the back cover of this design is the book description, a block meant for an author biography but which I use for book reviews, and a photo square, where I put my flower logo.
The image or photo is obviously an important decision. This, more than anything else I think, draws the reader's attention. Since this trilogy is about dichotomies that starts with half the world living on land and half the world living on water, I decided to use that as my organizing principle for the photos. I had thought about using dragons images - even downloaded a bunch of options from Pixabay - but the images weren't high resolution, and I couldn't find ones I liked that were. So, instead, I decided to use some of the default images supplied by KDP. In keeping with the theme of dichotomy, and because each book will follow the story of a particular character, the photos reflect the basic dichotomy of each character. That is, Book One is a land-based image, in this case of a mountain since the main character has fled to the mountains after being ostracized by her village. Book Two's cover image is just the water, in this case at sunset. It was challenging to find a photo with no land in sight. But that's an important part of Book Two's dichotomy, as the main character has never been on land. The cover image for Book Three, where the dichotomies start to converge, has both land and water in it. The main character of Book Three shows characteristics of both land people and sea people, and is seen as dangerous because of it.
The last decision needed for these covers is the color scheme. KDP provides a bunch of predefined selections, and I decided this go-round to just use one of theirs for each of the books. But I also want the colors to somewhat match the images. One of the drawbacks of KDP's covers is that each block of text on the cover can only be one color. And of course, the text has to show over the image chosen. The default is to have all the text be the same color, though I've often customized that as part of my cover design.
But the hardest part is that the choices made for one format - as I've vented about before - don't carry over to the other formats. So, for each book, you have to remember what image, colors, and layout you chose to replicate it for the other two formats. What I've chosen to do, though is have the paperback and Kindle versions look pretty much the same, and the same as the other fantasy books/series I've written. But I chose a completely different format for the hardcovers.
We'll see if that decision sticks.
October 8, 2023
Next Up?
I'm starting to write my next book. Except I'm actually writing two books, or four depending on how you count.
First up, the one that I've done the most work in, is a memoir. It's a companion piece to the biography of my father, written about 2020 and losing both parents in a month during a global pandemic. I've called it A Journal of Grief, though the current draft is more about the events than the grief. I think reckoning with my grief came after their deaths. So perhaps it makes sense that I lay out what happened first, and then address the challenges that came afterward. We'll see.
The other book is actually a new fantasy trilogy. It's very early on; still only in the ideas stage. I've created the world, though, which is a significant step. The premise is dichotomies. The world is divided into people who live on the water and people who live on the land. They have evolved differently, and they think differently about their world and each other. What exactly is going to happen, what the quest is, and how the world is saved - or evolved - is something I'm still working through.
More to come!
First up, the one that I've done the most work in, is a memoir. It's a companion piece to the biography of my father, written about 2020 and losing both parents in a month during a global pandemic. I've called it A Journal of Grief, though the current draft is more about the events than the grief. I think reckoning with my grief came after their deaths. So perhaps it makes sense that I lay out what happened first, and then address the challenges that came afterward. We'll see.
The other book is actually a new fantasy trilogy. It's very early on; still only in the ideas stage. I've created the world, though, which is a significant step. The premise is dichotomies. The world is divided into people who live on the water and people who live on the land. They have evolved differently, and they think differently about their world and each other. What exactly is going to happen, what the quest is, and how the world is saved - or evolved - is something I'm still working through.
More to come!
August 20, 2023
The Publishing Process
I just finished writing my 14th book, Rich People's Problems: The Story of Raggedy Ann and Andy. That doesn't mean it's ready for publication, however. There's a process from here.
First, I spell check using Word's Editor function. It's far from perfect, but it's not bad. It catches most of the glaring errors, like subject-verb disagreement and the occasional use of the wrong word entirely. Word and I disagree on the comma before the word "but". Word doesn't use it often, whereas I was taught to use it more than not. I turned on the use of the Oxford comma in the Editor, as that's my preference. Using the Oxford comma is a source of much discussion in the writing community. Personally, I think it makes sentences clearer. The other place that the Word Editor and I have a certain style disagreement is on a series of conjunctions. For example, if I wrote, "Jack met Jill and Anne, and together they went somewhere", Editor would flag the second comma as unnecessary. However, again, in the way I was taught, you put that comma in to distinguish that Jill and Anne go together. Review using Editor often takes a while, as Editor flags a lot of things, and you have to read the sentences to make sure the edit should be accepted. I'm probably 40/60 - I only accept about 40% of Editor's suggestions.
Next, I order a copy of the draft book in paperback. I could order a hard cover, I suppose. It would solve the same purpose. But the hardcover has a different ISBN than the paperback, and I traditionally use the paperback ISBN in my drafts (and for the Kindle versions, where the ISBN is not needed). So, I just got in the habit of ordering a paperback version for my hard-copy editing.
Once I get that copy, I do two editing passes. The first editing pass is from the front to the back, reading as a reader would. In this way, I catch continuity errors. I make notes of breadcrumbs along the way, to make sure that all of them are used throughout appropriately and/or resolved in the end. Most of the time, I track the breadcrumbs on 3x5 cards. I might put other notes on the cards, as well. Generally speaking the cards are things I want to make sure I didn't forget about as I was writing. This is particularly important as my outline often changes as I write - as I've noted in other blog posts. So, an idea I might have had at the beginning of the story might not apply by the time we get to the end.
The second editing pass is from "back to front". I can't read every word from end to beginning - that wouldn't make much sense. But I read each chapter as a whole, starting with the last chapter and moving forward. In this way, I try not to get caught up in continuity, but only read for edits. I also use a different color pen for these edits, so they don't get confused with the first pass.
If I've made a lot of changes or had to restructure whole sections - which happens sometimes - then I'll order a second paperback copy and do the whole editing thing again. I haven't had to do that too often - thank goodness - but if needed, I would definitely do that.
Sometimes I put the edits from the first pass in before I do the second pass. Sometimes I wait and do them both together. Either way, I do check that I've incorporated all the changes by doing a scan of the edits from the back of the book to the front. Again, this avoids getting caught up in continuity. I'm just looking for the changes to have been put in.
Finally, I run Word's Editor again. This is just in case I've introduced new errors. Unfortunately, Word doesn't "remember" what I ignored from the first round. So this process will involve ignoring the same edits all over again. Again, it's probably 40/60 as to whether I accept the edits.
Then, the novel is ready for publication. The KDP site likes PDFs for the paperback and hardcover editions, so I will create those - swapping out the ISBN from paperback to hardcover, appropriately. The Kindle upload has to be a Word file, though. So in the end, I end up with three versions of each book: Kindle (Word), paperback (PDF; paperback ISBN), and hardcover (PDF; hardcover ISBN).
All three will be released for publication around the same time. But it's always the Kindle that gets approved first. Followed by the hardcover. And finally the paperback. Not sure why the paperback takes longer than the hardcover, but it always does.
Then there's updating all the other books with the new book in the list of books. That's a whole other process documented in an earlier blog post (12 x 3 = 36). This time, it will be 13 x 3 = 39, in addition to the new 3. Whew.
First, I spell check using Word's Editor function. It's far from perfect, but it's not bad. It catches most of the glaring errors, like subject-verb disagreement and the occasional use of the wrong word entirely. Word and I disagree on the comma before the word "but". Word doesn't use it often, whereas I was taught to use it more than not. I turned on the use of the Oxford comma in the Editor, as that's my preference. Using the Oxford comma is a source of much discussion in the writing community. Personally, I think it makes sentences clearer. The other place that the Word Editor and I have a certain style disagreement is on a series of conjunctions. For example, if I wrote, "Jack met Jill and Anne, and together they went somewhere", Editor would flag the second comma as unnecessary. However, again, in the way I was taught, you put that comma in to distinguish that Jill and Anne go together. Review using Editor often takes a while, as Editor flags a lot of things, and you have to read the sentences to make sure the edit should be accepted. I'm probably 40/60 - I only accept about 40% of Editor's suggestions.
Next, I order a copy of the draft book in paperback. I could order a hard cover, I suppose. It would solve the same purpose. But the hardcover has a different ISBN than the paperback, and I traditionally use the paperback ISBN in my drafts (and for the Kindle versions, where the ISBN is not needed). So, I just got in the habit of ordering a paperback version for my hard-copy editing.
Once I get that copy, I do two editing passes. The first editing pass is from the front to the back, reading as a reader would. In this way, I catch continuity errors. I make notes of breadcrumbs along the way, to make sure that all of them are used throughout appropriately and/or resolved in the end. Most of the time, I track the breadcrumbs on 3x5 cards. I might put other notes on the cards, as well. Generally speaking the cards are things I want to make sure I didn't forget about as I was writing. This is particularly important as my outline often changes as I write - as I've noted in other blog posts. So, an idea I might have had at the beginning of the story might not apply by the time we get to the end.
The second editing pass is from "back to front". I can't read every word from end to beginning - that wouldn't make much sense. But I read each chapter as a whole, starting with the last chapter and moving forward. In this way, I try not to get caught up in continuity, but only read for edits. I also use a different color pen for these edits, so they don't get confused with the first pass.
If I've made a lot of changes or had to restructure whole sections - which happens sometimes - then I'll order a second paperback copy and do the whole editing thing again. I haven't had to do that too often - thank goodness - but if needed, I would definitely do that.
Sometimes I put the edits from the first pass in before I do the second pass. Sometimes I wait and do them both together. Either way, I do check that I've incorporated all the changes by doing a scan of the edits from the back of the book to the front. Again, this avoids getting caught up in continuity. I'm just looking for the changes to have been put in.
Finally, I run Word's Editor again. This is just in case I've introduced new errors. Unfortunately, Word doesn't "remember" what I ignored from the first round. So this process will involve ignoring the same edits all over again. Again, it's probably 40/60 as to whether I accept the edits.
Then, the novel is ready for publication. The KDP site likes PDFs for the paperback and hardcover editions, so I will create those - swapping out the ISBN from paperback to hardcover, appropriately. The Kindle upload has to be a Word file, though. So in the end, I end up with three versions of each book: Kindle (Word), paperback (PDF; paperback ISBN), and hardcover (PDF; hardcover ISBN).
All three will be released for publication around the same time. But it's always the Kindle that gets approved first. Followed by the hardcover. And finally the paperback. Not sure why the paperback takes longer than the hardcover, but it always does.
Then there's updating all the other books with the new book in the list of books. That's a whole other process documented in an earlier blog post (12 x 3 = 36). This time, it will be 13 x 3 = 39, in addition to the new 3. Whew.
