Reflections of a Diaper Master

I haven't taken the time to write a blog for a while due to trying to get some writing, editing, and typography done whenever and while Her Grace takes naps -- some days the time available is scant.

This morning She decided 02:00 is the new 06:00, with the wonderful result Wife and I were up two hours earlier than normal for Wife. The good news is I was able to sweep and mop the kitchen floor while Her Grace supervised my eradication of her sticky popsicle tracks (left behind when she devoured on the move).

At present Her Grace is taking a well-deserved nap, exhausted from keeping track of Her minions and making certain all tasks were accomplished (I also cut up another cantaloupe for Her). With luck, she'll sleep for two hours and I can get back to edits.

You might be wondering what all the preceding early morning activity has to do with writing and the answer is simple. Most writers have a life outside writing, responsibilities to take care of, and at times the back-step away from the work of writing to gain perspective or simply recharge.

As my daughter gets older She'll allow me more opportunities to do what I need to do, just as she'll also learn a bit about the world from the books She tries to help me write. Truth be told, there are days when the tiny demon warrior princess is sitting in the window next to my desk watching the world, and it's a calming thing.

One of the tasks I set myself lately was tightening up the typography for the print versions of my first two books, and while I was at it I set up economy prints as well. Is it possible to get the price of a POD book down to the mass-produced? While I can't get the basic cost of printing down that far, I learned it is possibly to get the cost down to a reasonable level: less than $5 (sans tax and shipping) for a roughly 70,000 word novel in Trade format.

I look forward to releasing "Mono-Earth: The War of the Egg" in the near future (those edits I was talking about), though it likely won't be as quick as I'd like. Part of the reason for the slow is an attempt to make English teachers not shudder, and then there are times where I need to go out into the hills to do a few things on the land.

I look forward to the day when I can step outside, sniff the breeze, and not see a neighboring house within twenty feet. I've always found more inspiration away from the larger cities, and with a bit of luck Her Grace will as well. Time for me to hie me off to other tasks -- may books that captivate you jump into your hands to keep you entertained.

Ciao
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Published on April 03, 2015 03:48 Tags: banshee, dash, dot, kielbasa, kirin-ichiban, polka, ralph, rash
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message 1: by P.J. (new)

P.J. O'Brien Nice post! I see that you've adopted the imaginative tagging tendency pioneered by SRoP. I'm amusing myself with thinking up sentences combining them all.


message 2: by R.F.G. (new)

R.F.G. Cameron P.J. wrote: "Nice post! I see that you've adopted the imaginative tagging tendency pioneered by SRoP. I'm amusing myself with thinking up sentences combining them all."

Aye, I thought about some of the things I've been through with, or due to Her Grace. The Kirin is a treat I don't get that often.

SRoP inspired me to go ahead with Antiqua Sphinge Press, which I hope doesn't make an utter asp of me. :)

Now all I need is a logo of a bespectacled older sphinx imbibing some home-brewed beer while running a press, or something.


message 3: by P.J. (new)

P.J. O'Brien R.F.G. wrote: "...Now all I need is a logo of a bespectacled older sphinx imbibing some home-brewed beer while running a press, or something."

Oh hang on, I think I have one here somewhere. Let me just shake out my purse...

But seriously, good luck with your new venture. I'll be following along and cheering for you.


message 4: by R.F.G. (new)

R.F.G. Cameron P.J. wrote: "Oh hang on, I think I have one here somewhere. Let me just shake out my purse...

But seriously, good luck with your new venture. I'll be following along and cheering for you. "


LOL

I can't call it a venture so much as a bit of a branding, for Her Grace when she takes over (if she's ever crazy enough to follow my lead).

I reckon I have a litle time to file the DBA thing, as it's only a problem if I actually make significant sales. Since I won't be hitting Comic-con, World-con, or Puppies-n-Kittens-con, odds are I have plenty of time.


message 5: by Richard (new)

Richard Oh, hope the press stuff comes off OK. I've found it fairly easy to get books down to a reasonable price, and when there are free-shipping sales, they're competitive with bookstore prices.


message 6: by R.F.G. (new)

R.F.G. Cameron Richard wrote: "Oh, hope the press stuff comes off OK. I've found it fairly easy to get books down to a reasonable price, and when there are free-shipping sales, they're competitive with bookstore prices."

I have my econo-prints at $4.25 on direct access, though my two 'proofs' are sitting in the cart. The only thing that might not print quite right is the B&W of me at the back.

I figured since I had to actually study typography and such, I might as well be pressed. Next up is getting the font package that handles those odd Middle English letters. When I actually get around to "Bad Kitty", one character speaks Middle English when he forgets where he is.


message 7: by Richard (new)

Richard Fonts with extra characters... Ah... For many languages SIL Gentium is excellent. It covers about anything you could want from Capetown to Point Barrow to Penzance and all points in between. It's free, and of professional quality:

http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/pa...

I've used Gentium Book Basic in some books (like
The Voyages of Tezmitsu and The Aerian Weaver). It looks very nice.


message 8: by R.F.G. (new)

R.F.G. Cameron Once Her Grace isn't supervising I'll see about installing some fonts :)


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