P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 299
June 28, 2015
Complete DIY Self-Publishing Pt. 4: The Cover
This is the fourth part of a series about self-publishing a short e-book as a completely DIY project. Part 1 introduced why you should consider trying to self-publish on your own at least once. Part 2 dealt with some of the tools you will need to gather at some point to accomplish the project. Part 3 addressed the importance of formatting and using the tool of a style guide.
Visual Affect and the Cover
The cover of a book may be one of the most important elements in the digital world. A weak cover can dull sales. However, with a smaller project the cover presents some difficulty since the project may not have the budget for a top-end cover. It’s at this point you may consider spending some money on a photo which you can use to develop into a cover. Personally, I went with a photo from iStockPhoto.com but I’ve also written about more sites too (this post was about using free photos for blog posts but these sites should have terms for buying photos for re-use as a cover).
Making the Cover
Once you’ve chosen a suitable photo as the basis of your cover, you’re ready to being working it. Here’s how my process went for The Black Bag.
1. I got in my toolbox and pulled out PowerPoint and created a slide with the photo.
2. Next I create text boxes and added my Title, by-line and additional information.
3. Save the file as a PowerPoint file (.pptx file extension).
4. Next re-save it with “Save As” and choose the .jpg (IMPORTANT: when prompt whether to save all slides or just the current one, choose just the current one).
That’s it for the basic cover.
The Final Touch
At this point, I had cover ready. However, my original was the incorrect size to up load so it needed some work. This required some photo editing to change the size of the photo. To handle this job, I went to another tool to handle the photo-editing: Gimp. I’m not an expert on this task so this article better explains how to re-size a photo using Gimp. It’s not a very hard process and when you’ve completed this your cover is ready unless you need to make some changes to the cover such as text size (make sure you can see this in thumbnail view of the file on your computer).
More Cover Resources
Need a little more information about covers before tackling this part of the project?
Rayne Hall discusses best practices with covers in her book: Why Does My Book Not Sell?
Here’s an article that shows in detail the process of using PowerPoint to create a cover.
Don’t have PowerPoint and want to use only free software for making your cover? This article shows how to use Gimp exclusively.
Not interested in using Gimp? Try free online Photoshop and watch this video.
My own cover is just below.
Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!
Have you tried making your own cover? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events (and there’s some big news this month). Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Street Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a free coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
Clip art licensed from Microsoft Office.
Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing
June 27, 2015
Scrivener Tips Pt. 6: Using Project Stats
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
The Conundrum
My book, The Bow of Destiny, has been with an editor for a structural edit. I’ve received the manuscript back with a list of changes to address. But I need to make some regular decisions on where to make additions and how.
One of the beauties of Scrivener is that I can use the Binder to easily find places where specific changes should be made. I’m using this feature heavily as I revise The Bow of Destiny for its next round of editing.
However, one of the first things which I found to be a quandary was where to add a particular, short scene. I knew I could add it to the end of chapter 9 or the beginning of chapter 10 without any effect on continuity. However, I didn’t know which to choose as the best.
The Answer
Then it occurred to me: which one is longer? This would likely be a determining factor since I didn’t want to make one chapter inordinately long. That’s where another feature of Scrivener came into play.
To determine the length of each chapter I clicked onto each folder and obtained the project statistics. The comparison allowed me to quickly decide on the end of chapter 9 as the place to add the scene. I created a new document container and wrote the scene without hesitation.
How-to
If you need to make such quick determinations about pieces of a project you can do so easily just like I did using Scrivener. While in the section of your project in question, click on Project and then on Project Stastics:
What’s displayed in the following is a window that indicates the totals for the whole project and then for the specific selection. For my purposes, I looked at the selection statistics for each chapter, comparing the number of words and pages and found chapter 9 to be the shorter of the two and my choice was easily made.
With Scrivener, the question at hand was easily answered so that I didn’t waste time on it. I finished my scene addition in less than forty-five minutes – and in the process got the idea for this tip. Once again, Scrivener has proved to be invaluable as a writing tool.
What decisions hold you up while editing? What are your favorite features to use in Scrivener? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events (and there’s some big news this month). Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Street Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a free coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
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Just as a note: I am not affliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor.
Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing
Complete DIY Self-Publishing Pt. 3: Sandpaper
This is the third part of a series about self-publishing a short e-book as a completely DIY project. Part 1 introduced why you should consider trying to self-publish on your own at least once. Part 2 dealt with some of the tools you will need to gather at some point to accomplish the project.
The Dreaded Format
It has become almost axiomatic among writers to advise other writers to hire out their formatting. I generally agree for full-length projects but I don’t think it’s worth the cost for short ones. Many authors believe that e-book formatting is just too difficult to do and would take away from their writing time and other tasks. But there are reasons to consider trying it at least once – cost and experience.
What Exactly is Formatting
Many writers don’t realize that their work is already formatted when they complete it. However, the formatting may have been set-up incorrectly. There may need to be styles applied at various points in the book. Also, there may be hidden characters that appear incorrectly in e-book format.
I’m Finished. What Next?
Let’s say that you’ve finished your e-book. Formatting is probably the next thing you need to do. The manuscript needs to be corrected for uploading to a vendor.
If the project is developed in Scrivener you can use this software to compile the manuscript into an ebook. However, it may be best to simply compile the book into a Word document for two reasons.
1. You may still need to format the e-book – more on that in a moment.
2. Uploading your book to Kindle and Smashwords requires a Word document unless you already have a clean e-book file that is appropriate to the vendor.
Grab Your Sandpaper and Start Formatting
Formatting is like sanding your manuscript’s rough edges away but it is not editing – think typesetting. You will need to consult with something like the Smashwords Style Guide by Mark Coker (as mentioned in part 2 of this series). I’ve used this guide and highly recommend it as a straightforward, simple guide – with screenshots included – to help anyone through formatting.
To hit the high notes, you need to make sure all erroneous formatting is removed from the book. It’s best when writing a book not to use manual indent but rely on the auto-indent in your word processor. The quide gets deeper by detailing such tasks as adding internal links and the use of styles. Again, follow these directions well and you can easily add the these elements as necessary.
Formatting is an important tool to completing the project. It is a powerful tool but it is not too complex to accomplish on your own, especially for a shorter project. By handling this task on your own you gain valuable insight on the process.
When addressing your longer projects you may have developed the skill and confidence to do it on your own. But even if you hire out the task of formatting you will have developed more understanding to work with your formatter as well as develop your projects more cleanly.
Bonus Tip: Once you’ve finished formatting you can view your e-book using Adobe Digital Editions to verify that it looks right. This software will allow you to make this “test-run” before you officially publish the e-book.
Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!
Have you ever tried to format any or your writing in preparation for an e-book? If you’ve formatted before, what tips can you share? If you haven’t formatted previously, what keeps you from trying? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed on 11/10/14 so take a look.
Thanks for reading.
P. H. Solomon
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Clip art licensed from Microsoft Office.
Filed under: Cover Reveal, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Editing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, Kindle, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Smashwords, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, writing
June 26, 2015
End to End DIY Self-Publishing: 4 Reasons to Give It a Try
Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft
Self-publishing is DIY by definition, however, there are different levels of this when presenting a book to the world. There are those people who write and then pay for the editing, the cover and formatting in order to release it into the wide world. Then there those writers who do most if not all of the work themselves.
Before I go further, let me address the issue of editing. Unless your work is short you should get another set of eyes on your manuscript regardless – even if you pay for it. I know I am with my upcoming epic fantasy novel, The Bow of Destiny. Novels and full-length non-fiction are just too large to get into solid condition for readers without some professional help. For shorter works, some input from fellow writers may help you get the project in good shape. Usually, you can’t pay for someone to edit a short story or other short books so it becomes DIY unless you know someone willing to take a look at the grammar.
What are the benefits to publishing as a DIY project? Here are my 4 reasons to give it a try – at least on a shorter project:
1. It’s inexpensive – you can publish a short book without spending lots of money on a cover, formatting and editing
2. You learn something from the experience – I know with my own efforts with The Black Bag I learned how to make a simple cover that was usable on Amazon and Smashwords. Also, I learned that formatting is not that scary with a short writing project.
3. You learn what to expect – by the time I uploaded The Black Bag I had gained a great deal of insight on actually publishing. When I am ready with my next book, I will have an idea of what I am doing and how it links with promotion.
4. Some exposure – you may not gain tons of readers from a short project but you do gain some exposure which helps in building your writer platform.
Series links:
Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!
These are some of my reasons for attempting a complete DIY self-published project. In future posts for this series, I’ll discuss my experience with the various aspects of my effort as well as share the tools that helped me. Have your tried this for yourself? Is formatting a scary subject for you? If you have experiences and ideas of your own please share them in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!
Thanks for reading!
PHS
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Cover art image licensed from iStockPhoto.com
Clip art licensed via Microsoft Office
Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing
June 25, 2015
The Week in Review – June 26
Here’s another review of the week for those interested in what’s appeared on the blog this week and what I’ve been reading.
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From Archer’s Aim This Week:
Monday: “SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour: Maureen K. Howard
Tuesday: More Project Tracking in Scrivener with Meta-Data
Wednesday: Fantasy Authors Unplugged Featuring Matt Grawitch
Thursday: Conference Notes Pt. 3: Warm-up Your Pitching Arm
Posts & Articles I’ve been reading this week:
Want to know how self-publishing’s done? Rachel Abbot shares her experiences in an interview.
Agent Donald Maass addresses writing emotions on Writer Unboxed.
Want to use Word to format your manuscript? Paranormal author, Jami Gold, shares her secrets in this article.
Writers Write shares 30 inspirational ideas to help you jump-start your blogging.
E. C. Hibbs shared this instructional video last February with her 5 tips for writing fantasy.
In the mood to break some of the current fantasy writing rules? Here’s where to start!
Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events (and there’s some big news this month). Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Street Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a free coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
Happy weekend, everyone!
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page but you can still view the News page for announcements. My Store/Downloads page has also been updated with the latest links
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Oh, and take a look at Rave Reviews Book Club where I’m a VIP member and receive incredible support as an author. Tell them P. H. Solomon sent you!
Filed under: Agents, Amazon, Archer's Aim Digest, Author Platform, Blog Tour, Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Fantasy, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Matt Grawitch, Maureen K. Howard, Pinterest, Planning, Pure Magic, Rave Review Book Club, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Social Media, Sunny Side Up, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, The Three Wizards Chronicles, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Donald Maass, E. C. Hibbs, Jami Gold, Matt Grawitch, Maureen K. Howard, Rachel Abbot, Rave Reviews Book Club, Scrivener, Street Team Archer's Aim Digest, Sunny Side Up, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, The Three Wizards Chronicles, Writer Unboxed, Writers Write
June 24, 2015
Conference Notes Pt. 3: Warm-up Your Pitching Arm
I recently attended a local writing conference and came away with notes on several topics which interested me. The last two weeks, I posted about creating compelling characters and writing for trade publications to supplement your writing income. This week, I’m covering another observation from the conference I attended – going prepared to deliver your best pitch.
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Deliver your best pitch at a writer’s conference. Photo courtesy Morguefile.com free section.
I had two friends go with me and they were attending a writing conference for the first time. They came with ideas in mind as well as work ready to pitch to agents that were attending. Since I’m mainly working on self-publishing, I arrived with nothing in mind which is a mistake. Here’s why…
One friend kept talking to a particular fiction agent and got a sit-down meeting with him even though the agent’s calendar was full. This friend, pitched his two fiction book series. The agent passed on the first project but wanted to see the second one. So far my friend was 1 for 2 – not bad on your first try with an agent at your first writing conference. But, since the agent also represented film and TV projects, my friend went for broke and pitched a TV show idea. The agent knew of someone possibly looking for related programming and told my friend to write the pilot. That’s 2 for 3 – amazing!
Next we ate lunch at another agent’s table. The conversation went around with all of us since this agent was quite affable. When asked about anything she was doing, my second friend pitched a non-fiction idea she’d had for a number of years based on some personal experiences. The agent bit and told her he wanted to see her idea within a month using his online template. Wow, this was incredible!
Go to a conference ready to deliver a pitch. Photo courtesy Morguefile.com free section.
However, by now you see the lesson learned. I arrived with nothing to pitch. The old adage, “Nothing ventured nothing gained” is apropos in this instance. Take my advice, have a few ideas in mind – maybe even slightly developed – when you go to a conference. You never know what may happen. As writers we are creative and lots of ideas come to mind. Just because you can’t act on it immediately doesn’t mean someone might not be interested in the right circumstances. Also, just because an idea isn’t in your main genre doesn’t mean it can’t be developed – especially non-fiction. And just because you are self-publishing doesn’t mean it eliminates you from other publication opportunities.
So take my advice, attend that next conference with a finished project or non-fiction idea ready to pitch to the nearest agent or editor. You never know what may happen! Don’t get caught sitting on the sidelines. Congratulations to my daring friends – now go get ’em!
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page starting today but you can still view the News page for announcements. As part of the changes, new email subscribers (you won’t be spammed nor sold) will receive my free new guide, 15 Must Have Apps for Self-Publishing Authors. Sign-up today! I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.
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Filed under: Agents, Blogging, Choices, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Non-fiction, Pinterest, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing, Writing Conference Tagged: Agents, blogging, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Marketing, non-fiction, pitch, Rave Reviews Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, TV series, Twitter, writing, Writing Conference
June 23, 2015
Fantasy Authors Unplugged Featuring Matt Grawitch
This is continuing feature on Archer’s Aim – Fantasy Authors Unplugged. I hope to frequently share an interview with a fantasy author. If you have authors to suggest and/or questions you’d like to see answered then leave a comment or send me an email. If you are a fantasy author and would like an interview please let me know and we’ll plan one that fits your schedule. Today’s featured author is Matt Grawitch, author of The Three Wizards Chronicles. Welcome, Matt!
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Q. Hi Matt, welcome to Fantasy Authors Unplugged on Archer’s Aim. To begin, from where do you get your ideas for fantasy?
A. That’s always hard to say. A lot of the times, some of the initial ideas just come to me. I might be showering, reading a news story, or having a conversation with someone, and an idea occurs to me. The Three Wizards books started out at just a random story I told my girls before bed one night. And then it evolved into a novel and now a series of novels. But each of the ideas – from the plot to the characters – come from somewhere.
Q. Do you have a favorite author or two that influence your own writing?
A. I’m sure other authors influence my writing, though I’m not sure any one in particular does. I’d say that, at least from a young reader perspective, Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time series was one of my favorites. But I’ll admit, there are some really exceptional writers around these days, but for me to deliberately try to write like any of them wouldn’t work out really well.
Q. When do you know it’s time to take a break during your writing?
A. Typically when I feel like I’m forcing ideas. When I’m on, sentences flow quickly and easily (though editing is still a big pain). But when I’ve hit a roadblock, I might write and re-write a sentence three, four, or five times. And that’s when I know I’ve hit a wall. At that point, I need to take a break and let the ideas percolate. Sometimes, it takes only a few minutes, and sometimes it takes a lot longer.
Q. When did you first become interested in Fantasy?
A. Probably about the age of 8 or so. On Saturday mornings I used to watch the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, which I thought was awesome. The combination of sword and sorcery, the creatures that inhabited the world, all of it interested me. Probably the first noteworthy fantasy book series that kept my attention was the Wheel of Time Series, and I’ve been interested in fantasy books and writing ever since.
Q. What’s your current book and the brief synopsis?
A. Three Wizards Chronicles Book 3: Pure Magic is going to be released sometime in the near future (it’s in the final stages of editing). The book picks up several months after the end of Book 2. The book surrounds a core group of characters. Nikko is a Wizard of Fire Magic and is the Teacher and Protector of the Three Wizards – Summer (Wizard of Earth Magic), Jolie (Wizard of Wind Magic), and Reece (Wizard of Water Magic). A new Wizard of Dead Magic is introduced (Addonexus, which means Bringer of Death in Latin), and some interesting new characters are added along the way. The story ends up centering on Addonexus’ attempts to conquer the Realm of Magic, though the book takes place both within that magical world as well as our own world (the natural world).
Q. What are your goals as an author?
A. I try to ensure I establish continuity in my stories and characters. My goal is to develop characters with unique personalities who interact in relatively realistic ways with the plot that’s been provided for them. Nothing irritates me more than stories where a well-developed character does something so far outside what would be expected of that character, so I try to minimize those sorts of issues in my stories and writing.
Q. How many related and unrelated books do you have in mind to write, whether as an idea or planned?
A. The Three Wizards series is probably going to be a total of six books. It was originally seven, but a couple of them were a bit short for my liking (yes, all of them have actually been written, they just haven’t undergone major editing). I also have another series, the Graymalkin Saga, which is one and a half book in, though Book 1 is still undergoing my first pass at editing. That one has no pre-determined length yet.
Q. What keeps you motivated to write no matter what’s going wrong?
A. I think self-imposed deadlines can help, but I’ll be honest, sometimes it is a struggle. Writing regularly helps, because it establishes a pattern and flow, which are both really important for me and my personality. Yet, sometimes life does get in the way and that leads to a bit more incremental writing, a bit more starting and stopping.
Collins and Hermann portraits
Matt Grawitch is a Ph.D. in Psychology serving as a faculty member at a university in the Midwestern U.S. He is also the father of two wonderful girls who served as the inspiration for some of the characters in the Three Wizards series. He currently lives in New Baden, Illinois with his fiancé.
The link to my author site is: http://www.amazon.com/Matt-Grawitch/e/B00FP7ZMHE/ref=la_B00FP7ZMHE_rf_p_n_feature_browse-b_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB00FP7ZMHE%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1381234507&rnid=618072011
The link to my website is: http://www.three-wizards.com/
And Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Wizards-Chronicles/615319125169665
Thanks to Matt for the interview today. I hope everyone enjoyed it and will support Matt’s work. If you’re a fantasy author and would like to be interviewed for “Fantasy Authors Unplugged” just contact me via email or one of my social media channels and we’ll set one up.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page starting today but you can still view the News page for announcements. As part of the changes, new email subscribers will receive my free new guide, 15 Must Have Apps for Self-Publishing Authors. Sign-up today! I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.
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Filed under: Amazon, Editing, Fantasy, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Matt Grawitch, Pinterest, Pure Magic, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Three Wizards Chronicles, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, creativity, Facebook, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Matt Grawitch, Pinterest, Pure Magic, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Three Wizards Chronicles, Twitter, writing
June 22, 2015
More Project Tracking in Scrivener with Meta-Data
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
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I’ve written about the Inspector a number of times over the last few months. Just to re-cap, the Inspector is the bar on the right side of the editor. Once turned on, the Inspector allows you to work with various forms of meta-date in your project. What’s meta-data? It’s a way of making comments about your work for tracking purposes. Examples are the synopsis, document notes, document references, keywords, snapshots and comments & footnotes. But there are a few more aspects of meta-data to explore.
How to turn on the Inspector bar
The General Meta-Data and Define Meta-Data Fields panes in the Inspector
First, on the Inspector, the General Meta-Data is almost always available (except in Snapshots and Comments). You can label a document with color or indicate the status of your document based on a number of criteria. Below you indicate when the document was created or modified. Use the check boxes to include the document in compile, set a page break before the document or compile it as-is. All this is pretty straightforward – use these settings to mark your progress. These can be viewable in different ways from the Outliner, Corkboard and Binder.
Next, there’s customizing Meta-Data which allows you to add categories to label and status lists. Clicking over to the Custom Meta-Data button on the Inspector menu reveals a button named Define Meta-Data Fields. From this window the Status and Label lists can be managed in addition to your custom meta-data. Again these are valuable for how you track progress in your projects.
I’ve found general meta-data useful for updating the progress of any document including a chapter, short story, blog post, blog tour and anything else on which I’m working. It’s a useful and easy way to track your work and customizing is even more useful. It’s one more way the Inspector is as powerful as the Binder.
Customize Meta-Data
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page starting today but you can still view the News page for announcements. As part of the changes, new email subscribers will receive my free new guide, 15 Must Have Apps for Self-Publishing Authors. Sign-up today! I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.
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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor.
Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Pinterest, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Inspector, Meta-Data, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing
June 21, 2015
“SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour: Maureen K. Howard
Today I’m pleased to welcome this week’s featured Rave Reviews SPOTLIGHT Blog Tour author – Maureen K. Howard. This is one of the great perks RRBC offers to members who are regularly active in the club. Congratulations to Maureen for winning the current tour and kudos to the club to continue promoting great authors like this! Take it away, Tara!
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“Just Another Day In …”
~by Brigette Howard
Greetings and salutations, fellow book lovers. Please let me formally introduce myself and my writing partner. Maureen K. Howard is the pen name of mother/daughter writing team, Maureen Kovach and Brigette Howard. We both live in Findlay, Ohio.
Maureen recently retired from a long career as a high school English teacher and now focuses her time on spoiling her three granddaughters, spending long weekends at the lake with her husband and their golden doodle, and making friends with fellow mystery writers and readers across the globe via social media. Oh yeah, she also writes books.
Brigette works full time managing multiple national restaurant franchises. She enjoys taking her charcoal lab on running adventures and spends her free time reading, gardening with her husband, cooking, and planning the perfect murder.
Now let’s get real. Here’s a peak into a typical day, a day off from work, at that. I woke up yesterday morning to a call from my mom who was so excited about an email she had received from Rave Review Book Club (RRBC) asking us to participate in the prestigious Spotlight Week. I read through all of the requirements and thought it sounded like a great opportunity. We signed on the dotted line.
As usual, our time lines really didn’t mesh, but we had a very limited window of time to get everything prepared for this great event, so we had to make it work. The day was going to be Wednesday. We would spend the whole day together at my mom’s house getting everything done for our fabulous week in the Spotlight. We wouldn’t rest until everything was complete.
8:00 A.M. “Hey mom, do you want to come to my house instead? You haven’t been over in forever, plus I have lots of food, and wine if needed. And bring Joe if you want to.” (Why did I say that? Now I have to speed clean my house and think about preparing food. Not to mention the fact that we have the added pressure to look cute so we can take a new author picture today.)
12:00 P.M. My mom and her dog Joe get to my house and she says how nice everything looks. (As if I just wake up to a cute and tidy house and didn’t just spend three hours cleaning.) Now we get down to work.
2:00 P.M. We are about ¼ of the way through what we need to do when my Aunt Diane from California calls and says she is in the neighborhood and would like to see us. Okay. (When are we eating again? And shouldn’t it be soon, since we opened the wine at noon?)
4:30 P.M. Lunch has been eaten. The visit with my aunt is complete, my husband is home from work, and now my dad is wondering where my mom and his dog are because he wants to get on the road to the lake for the four-day boat trip they have planned to Cleveland. “We’ll be done soon,” Mom says. (Only four more blog posts to go, and still not a single useable photo. I think we need more wine.)
7:00 P.M. Our latest photo session was a success. (So to speak. My husband is seriously questioning our sanity after taking endless photos that we reject because of double chins or squinty eyes). But finally, all questionnaires are complete and we only have two more blog posts to finish.
7:15 P.M. Mom decides that she needs to get home so she can finish packing and get on the road, and I realize that I have been sitting in front of this computer for almost seven hours. (I think I’ll go check out the ribs that my husband has smoking and refresh my wine. One more post to finish before I have to work at noon tomorrow)!
Update: Mom got to the boat and finished one of her posts at 11:00 P.M. The last one was done Thursday morning before dawn. My final piece got finished just in time to rush out the door.
Turn on that spotlight and let it shine!
Author Bio:
Maureen K. Howard is the pen name of mother/daughter writing partners, Maureen Kovach and Brigette Howard. They both live in Findlay, Ohio. Maureen recently retired from a long career as a high school English teacher and now focuses her time on spoiling her three granddaughters, spending long weekends at the lake with her husband and their golden doodle, and making friends with fellow mystery writers and readers across the globe via social media. Oh yeah, she also writes books. Brigette works full time managing multiple national restaurant franchises. She enjoys taking her charcoal lab on running adventures and spends her free time reading, gardening with her husband, cooking, and planning the perfect murder.
Maureen Online:
Twitter: @mhowardbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maureenhowardauthor
Website: http://mhowardbooks.wix.com/lake-erie-mysteries
Book Links:
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sunny-side-up-maureen-k-howard/1121262131?ean=9781634432887
CHAPTER ONE
The evening sky made me think of rainbow sherbet as I watched the sun set over picturesque Kelleys Island. The sound of waves lapping against the side of my small skiff as I steered toward the lakeshore had a cathartic effect—my breathing and heart rate were finally returning to normal. From a hundred yards off shore, it was a postcard perfect scene. Idling past the breakwall, past the pier and the beach, I envisioned the fingers of charcoal smoke curling their way through the pastel clouds, clutching and twisting, distorting the idyllic scene. I could almost smell it, faint at first, but increasing in intensity, a foul odor like hot summer asphalt mixed with the sweetly noxious smell of burnt cupcakes. It would make your eyes water and your nostrils burn.
Increasing my speed, I glanced over my shoulder then focused once more on the shoreline, imagining the result of my handiwork and the thrill that would course through me when my mission was complete and my trophy, the charred remains of my victim, was discovered.
Best wishes for good sales to Maureen. Please take a few moments to view Maureen’s work via her links. If you’re interested in membership with Rave Reviews Book Club just click the link to find out more and if you join tell them P. H. Solomon sent you.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page starting today but you can still view the News page for announcements. As part of the changes, new email subscribers (you won’t be spammed nor sold) will receive my free new guide, 15 Must Have Apps for Self-Publishing Authors. Sign-up today! I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.
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Filed under: Amazon, Blog Tour, Creativity, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Maureen K. Howard, Pinterest, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Spotlight Blog Tour, Sunny Side Up, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Blog Tour, blogging, Coverart, Facebook, Fiction, Goodreads, Marketing, Maureen K. Howard, Mystery, Pinterest, Rave Reviews Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Spotlight Blog Tour, Sunny Side Up, Twitter, writing
June 18, 2015
Fantasy Authors Unplugged Featuring David Gilchrist
This is continuing feature on Archer’s Aim – Fantasy Authors Unplugged. I hope to frequently share an interview with a fantasy author. If you have authors to suggest and/or questions you’d like to see answered then leave a comment or send me an email. If you are a fantasy author and would like an interview please let me know and we’ll plan one that fits your schedule.
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Q. Hi David, welcome to Fantasy Authors Unplugged on Archer’s Aim. Let’s start with a tough one. What games, sports or hobbies do you like and do they influence your writing?
A. I play badminton on a semi regular basis, but I guess the only hobby that I have that has any influence on my writing is playing the guitar. I’ve played since I was 11. I played in a couple of bands and tried my hand at song writing. Can’t say I’ve written any music in a long time, but I still play whenever I get a free moment. Playing music taught me a lot about rhythm, timing, flow and letting your work breathe.
Q. What kind of writing schedule do you keep? Full-time or part-time?
A. Part-time/Manic – I generally write and/or edit whenever I get the chance: during the long commute to work, after the kids are in bed, during lunch hours at my “real” job. I’d love to be able to write full-time, but just now that’s not an option. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford the Alpine lodge in the Highlands where I can beaver away for days on end.
Q. Have there been times when you wanted to just stop writing?
A. No, but there have been times when I’ve forced to take fairly long breaks. I always have more ideas than I have time to execute. I try to scribble down my ideas so that way I’ve got a pool of first chapters / ideas / synopsis. So, as I’ve said, I’ve never wanted to stop.
Q. What draws you to the fantasy genre and keeps your attention?
A. Dragons….
Well, more than that really. What other genre can offer such a rich depth of variety that not only fires your imagination, but tugs on your heart strings and challenges your preconceptions? Also it has dragons.
Q. What’s your current book and the brief synopsis?
A. I’m currently writing Pyrite. It’s the second part of a fantasy series “The Redemption of Wist.” It continues the story of Wist, (Book 1 – Tapasya) a man who has committed suicide in his own world, only to find himself trapped in another. A world where he has power, but is crippled by fear and uncertainty. Here, he must accept the failures of his or he risks the destruction of a world.
Q. What’s your take on the current landscape of fantasy publishing and where it’s going?
A. There’s a lot of good stuff out there and the impact on the genre of the titan’s that are GRR Martin and JK Rowling shouldn’t be underestimated. They’ve made space for other fantasy authors via the traditional publishing route by creating demand (via a new audience). I’ve gone with e-publishing my first novel myself. Partly due to laziness. When I looked at submitting my finished manuscript to publishers they all had different style rules, synopsis requirements etc etc. Some of them would only accept submission via agents and the vast majority would offer no feedback. Hey ho. Maybe some people have an abundance of time to spend on tailoring their submissions. Have I mentioned I’ve not got much spare time yet?
Q. Where do you see yourself as a writer in the next five years?
A. I know where I’d like to be. Working full time as a writer. I suspect I’ll still be working and squeezing it in where I can. But that’s OK too. :-)
Q. Who’s your favorite secondary character in your book?
A. Tough one. If there’s something fantasy books have abundance of, it’s characters: primary, secondary, tertiary. But if I had to pick one I go with Saltheart Foamfollower from Stephen Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. He’s fantastic character: flawed and funny, strong and brittle. A Giant with a soft heart that can beat you to death with his bare fists. And then laugh.
Hellfire and bloody damnation!
Bio & Links
David Gilchrist
I am a writer of words, a lover of music and a designer of electronics. The west coast of Scotland is my home.
I have loved fantasy since first reading LotR and have been devouring the genre ever since. I enjoy sojourns in the lands of horror, thriller and even (whisper it) non-fiction. But I’ll always find my way back to dragons and magic and fantasy.
Book Links:
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/Tapasya
Amazon US http://bit.ly/tapasya
Smashwords http://bit.ly/tapasya_s
Goodreads http://bit.ly/tapasya_g
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DavidGilchristAuthor
Twitter @dg60i
Pintesrest https://uk.pinterest.com/hobbs60i/
Thanks to David for the interview this week. Please take some time to check out what he’s written and support him as an author. If you’re a fantasy author and would like to be interviewed for “Fantasy Authors Unplugged” just contact me via email or one of my social media channels and we’ll set one up.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. I’ve updated the site with a new landing page starting today but you can still view the News page for announcements. As part of the changes, new email subscribers will receive my free new guide, 15 Must Have Apps for Self-Publishing Authors. Sign-up today! I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.
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Filed under: Amazon, Blogging, Creativity, David Gilchrist, Fantasy, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tapasya, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Coverart, creativity, David Gilchrist, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fantasy Fiction, Goals, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Pinterest, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tapasya, Twitter, writing
