There & Back Again...
Now that “How To Make Kindle Comics & Children’s Books” is done and has been published, it’s time to turn my attention to the task for which I took this long detour in the first place: creating a fully illustrated novelization of Wagner’s Ring Saga operas. Because this will be a heavily visual project, with over 400 pieces of art involved, I needed to be absolutely sure of what I was doing before I created and finalized the art, so that it’s the correct size and resolution necessary for both print and ebook mediums.
Having already produced a 22-page “proof-of-concept” chapbook last year, I’ve already ironed out many of the issues relating to layout and design, as well as working out a general “look” or style for the piece. That said, this is a work in progress in many ways, and will require a great deal of effort yet to sort it out. For one thing, while I’ve already got the primary draft complete, matching the artwork to the text in a tightly confined space is a page-by-page process, requiring a great deal more revision and concision that the average full-length novel. As readers of my first novel, The Saga of Beowulf, will know, brevity is not one of my strongest qualities. In part this is what appeals to me about writing a story that must fit within a given space: it forces me to choose my words and phrase things much more carefully than I ever have before. A good exercise for any author.
So with that said, my plan at present is to use the “new” blog over at rscotjohns.com as a way to record my progress and post updates for those who are interested in where I’m at with it. I'll continue to use this blog for discussing matters pertaining to publishing in general, and ebook formatting in particular. In addition, I will be creating new “Archive” pages over at the Fantasy Castle Books website, where I will post concept art and story excerpts from the various drafts of the Ring Saga project as it evolves. The website, like the book, is a work in progress, and is in the process of being rebuilt for the third time in a year. Hopefully this one will stay up.
So far the online store has been a great success, with sales there rivaling – and even exceeding at times – my sales on Amazon. As an independent author, my hope is to build on that trend, and become truly self-sufficient, cutting out all of the middlemen completely (or as much as practical, at any rate), since the path between the author and the reader is now ideally a direct line. But I’ll leave that argument for another post.
In a future post I’ll (re-)introduce the Ring Saga project, and post up some introductory art for those who did not have a chance to visit the old website Archives. I may re-post some of the old Beowulf material as well, if I find the time, but as this project will demand more time than I have already, that will not be a high priority. I will, however, try to keep this blog updated regularly from now on…
As a quick note as to where the project stands at present, my immediate task is to sort and organize the thousands upon thousands of digital models I’ve accumulated over the past few years into something resembling a Props department at an art or movie studio, so that I can actually find what I need when it comes time to build new scenes for 3D rendering. I think I spent half my time searching for the right model or texture set when creating the initial concept art, and I’d prefer not to waste as much time in the future. So a bit of time spent up front re-organizing my content should go a long way to making the whole process more efficient. I’ll talk more about this as I go.
Thanks to everyone who has waited so patiently while I was off dealing with ebook formatting issues, and to those who have purchased the “Kindle Comics” guidebook now that it is done! It will help to fund this next project.
Having already produced a 22-page “proof-of-concept” chapbook last year, I’ve already ironed out many of the issues relating to layout and design, as well as working out a general “look” or style for the piece. That said, this is a work in progress in many ways, and will require a great deal of effort yet to sort it out. For one thing, while I’ve already got the primary draft complete, matching the artwork to the text in a tightly confined space is a page-by-page process, requiring a great deal more revision and concision that the average full-length novel. As readers of my first novel, The Saga of Beowulf, will know, brevity is not one of my strongest qualities. In part this is what appeals to me about writing a story that must fit within a given space: it forces me to choose my words and phrase things much more carefully than I ever have before. A good exercise for any author.
So with that said, my plan at present is to use the “new” blog over at rscotjohns.com as a way to record my progress and post updates for those who are interested in where I’m at with it. I'll continue to use this blog for discussing matters pertaining to publishing in general, and ebook formatting in particular. In addition, I will be creating new “Archive” pages over at the Fantasy Castle Books website, where I will post concept art and story excerpts from the various drafts of the Ring Saga project as it evolves. The website, like the book, is a work in progress, and is in the process of being rebuilt for the third time in a year. Hopefully this one will stay up.
So far the online store has been a great success, with sales there rivaling – and even exceeding at times – my sales on Amazon. As an independent author, my hope is to build on that trend, and become truly self-sufficient, cutting out all of the middlemen completely (or as much as practical, at any rate), since the path between the author and the reader is now ideally a direct line. But I’ll leave that argument for another post.
In a future post I’ll (re-)introduce the Ring Saga project, and post up some introductory art for those who did not have a chance to visit the old website Archives. I may re-post some of the old Beowulf material as well, if I find the time, but as this project will demand more time than I have already, that will not be a high priority. I will, however, try to keep this blog updated regularly from now on…
As a quick note as to where the project stands at present, my immediate task is to sort and organize the thousands upon thousands of digital models I’ve accumulated over the past few years into something resembling a Props department at an art or movie studio, so that I can actually find what I need when it comes time to build new scenes for 3D rendering. I think I spent half my time searching for the right model or texture set when creating the initial concept art, and I’d prefer not to waste as much time in the future. So a bit of time spent up front re-organizing my content should go a long way to making the whole process more efficient. I’ll talk more about this as I go.
Thanks to everyone who has waited so patiently while I was off dealing with ebook formatting issues, and to those who have purchased the “Kindle Comics” guidebook now that it is done! It will help to fund this next project.
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