Sympathy-B: What’s in a Cover

With a change in approach in publishing, comes a change in cover. The picture is the same: A cropped photo of a test tube of exploding light. The test tube represents the finitude of the physical/science/the thinking mind; the exploding light, the infinitude of the intangible/potential/the spirit. Experimenting with the creation of spirit, the fulfillment of the potential.

Title Series: Sympathy-B

Reading the book will make the title series clear.

Volume 1: Computations of Flesh and Starlight

Computations=measurements, quantifying/theorizing

Flesh=Body

Starlight=Spirit

Measuring/quantifying/theorizing the body and spirit.

Book 1: Initiation of the Lost

Initiation: 1 the action of admitting someone into a secret or obscure society or group, typically with a ritual:

2 the action of beginning something:

Lost: 1 unable to find one’s way; not knowing one’s whereabouts:

2 denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered:

3 (of a game or contest) in which a defeat has been sustained:

Originally, Computations of Flesh and Starlight (Vol 1.) was going to be split into a book one and book two. Each book would contain two acts in two parts. The first book was going to be published as a whole. However, I decided to break the book into more easily digestible segments (for reader and writer/editor/publisher). So Act One Part One, Act One Part Two, Act Two Part One and Act Two Part Two (the contents of the original first book) will now be split into four sections, four books. Formatting and editing the entirety was/is just a chore. It was beginning to overwhelm me to the point of quitting.

So the original Book 1, needed a title change as the theme of the original title does not come into play in this installment. Also, I realized the book name should take presidence over the volume name. So Initiation of the Lost needed higher billing than Computations of Flesh and Starlight.

Cataloging: Sympathy-B > Computations of Flesh and Starlight > Initiation of the Lost > (Act I title > Part One > Chapter Title)*

* Parentheses denotes titles left to the interior of the book; they are not on the cover.

Now for titling the cover, the volume and the book title are switched in the hierarchy of the billing. Initiation of the Lost > Computations of Flesh and Starlight.

It took me a while to understand this, never having done a series, never mind one with such leveling: Series>Volume>Book as opposed to the more typical Series>Book. Because Sympathy-B was inspired by a comic book series, I added the volume level to cover each arc. Volume 1 is an arc split up to books. Volume 2 will be an arc split into books. Volume 3… etc.. If Harry Potter came out with a sequel series, the first series would be like Harry Potter (series): The Lord Voldemort Saga (volume): Harry Potter and the… (book) in order to accomodate the new series. Or the series could just rename itself and the reading order can be left to word of mouth.

Cover Image:

Explozoom 2/2 by jepoirrier (Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier) on flickr

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