Bookpost #1: "The Island Game" by Joni Parker
My New Year’s Resolution for 2022 was to finish and publish my latest book, “The Golden Harvest.” But by the end of January, I had already changed it. My new editor had suggested that I edit the books I had already published, adding what I had learned by writing my latest book. I resisted at first, knowing it will be an enormous project, but changed my mind when I read a few pages of “The Black Elf of Seaward Isle.”
I started the project with the novella “The Island Game: The Inside Story of Seaward Isle.” My first editor had challenged me to write the history of Seaward Isle in first person narrative form. I had trouble coming up with a character to do it. The main character of the series, Alex, was too young to know the history of the island, and the Elf Lord Odin knew the history, but sounded like my old history professor. Eventually, I came up with an investigative journalist by the name of Olivia Richards. She was curious and loved adventure. Since the story was already written in first person, I thought I would get this done quickly and move on to the next, but my sister thought it needed more work. Once we hashed it out, I saw her point. I added over eight thousand words to the original draft.
In addition, I wanted a map of Seaward Isle, so I made a sketch, and sent it off to a graphic designer who made it look better. I didn’t use any color on it because I thought it wouldn’t show up. I was wrong, but too late to add color.
During this time, I also found a new tool called Kindle Create. It’s available from KDP.com. It formatted my manuscript for publishing as an ebook and/or print version. The only difference between the two is the need for an ISBN number for the print version (also available on KDP.com). Ebooks don’t need one.
Another tool I found useful was the Cover Creator on KDP. I had never used it before, but it was easy to use and made some great covers, thanks to a stock photo from Dreamstime for “The Island Game.”
“The Island Game” is available on Amazon for $1.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited. Check it out at https://amazon.com/dp/B0BBD1WCJ2
I started the project with the novella “The Island Game: The Inside Story of Seaward Isle.” My first editor had challenged me to write the history of Seaward Isle in first person narrative form. I had trouble coming up with a character to do it. The main character of the series, Alex, was too young to know the history of the island, and the Elf Lord Odin knew the history, but sounded like my old history professor. Eventually, I came up with an investigative journalist by the name of Olivia Richards. She was curious and loved adventure. Since the story was already written in first person, I thought I would get this done quickly and move on to the next, but my sister thought it needed more work. Once we hashed it out, I saw her point. I added over eight thousand words to the original draft.
In addition, I wanted a map of Seaward Isle, so I made a sketch, and sent it off to a graphic designer who made it look better. I didn’t use any color on it because I thought it wouldn’t show up. I was wrong, but too late to add color.
During this time, I also found a new tool called Kindle Create. It’s available from KDP.com. It formatted my manuscript for publishing as an ebook and/or print version. The only difference between the two is the need for an ISBN number for the print version (also available on KDP.com). Ebooks don’t need one.
Another tool I found useful was the Cover Creator on KDP. I had never used it before, but it was easy to use and made some great covers, thanks to a stock photo from Dreamstime for “The Island Game.”
“The Island Game” is available on Amazon for $1.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited. Check it out at https://amazon.com/dp/B0BBD1WCJ2
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