C.B.’s Comments (group member since May 01, 2015)

C.B.’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Yes, I will admit it.

I think spreadsheets are neat.

Joe wrote: "Ah, okay. I thought "The Silent Tempest" might be the nickname for a character (sure sounds like a good one!)."

It does sound like a 40s detective comic book character.

What... just tracking the names?
:D

My character tracker spreadsheet (page 1) lists the following information on each character, in columns. *ahem*

First Name - Avatar
Last Name - Avatar
Race
Gender
Class (Class Type)
Myers Briggs Classification
Height
Body Style#
Hair Style Colour
Hair Style #
Facial Hair #
Eye colour (# Style number)
Descriptor
Secondary Descriptor
Favourite Colour
Sexual Orientation
Other Characters they really have a crush on
Other Characters they really hate
Fournimer Nickname
Lissa Nickname
Additional Nicknames
### Power
Player Name
Player Job
Player Secret
Misc.

Additionally, I have other pages to track the spells they use, and the equipment they own. There is also a page just for how to talk like one horrible, horrible, character.

I also agree with Melissa. No main characters in my book share a name that starts with the same letter. I was really into P and M when I started, and I needed to do a name cull.

I really tried to make everyone's name sound different (except for the twins), and a different letter at the start really helps that. I kept the flow, the sound, and even the amount of syllables different if I could. Distinct names really does help readers keep track of them.

I have had a few people tell me, oh you know that character I mean, the 'Z' one!

When it is done poorly, it can really take me out of the story. If I need a tracker to keep your characters separate when I read... I am generally not going to remember who they are.

A week or so after my 1st book came out, I got put on someone's "I would never read this book in a million years" shelf. It made me laugh more than anything.

I haven't been hit with any drive by 'one'ings yet though.

Kat wrote: "Ooooooooh, C.B. I absolutely love your cover. I keep showing it to people to showcase what I personally deem to be a great cover that matches the story. I had no idea you did it yourself! Well done! "

Awe! *Blush*
Thank you very much Kat! That really means a lot to me and I appreciate it!

If you are only looking for a way to keep track a spreadsheet would probably be the best bet. It would be easy enough to set up and to keep it in chronological order,
It you want it to be really 'visual', as in pretty, then this option will not be that attractive.

If you pick Design Colin the best advise I have is to not start on a computer.
Sketch out some ideas first. It will put your brain into 'creative' mode and not 'technical' mode like a computer does. (especially if you are learning a program)
The sketches will help you to achieve a better, more pleasingly artistic, product!

Christina wrote: "I think CB cheated by way of psychic brain waves. ;p"

I found out I randomly got assigned to Number 7, That is about as cheating as it gets! :D

I will say this again though, CreateSpace made a mistake the last time they sent me books. I got 4 for free, I have 2 free ones left.

I am more than happy to donate a free one to you that comes with a free bookmark, signature, and fabled mystery prize!

Oh wow! I won. I'm so sorry GG! :D

I have never used the free versions, but I know they are very similar! :D

InDesign can now export as an epub file just fine, unless you are crazy like that CB guy! it is wonderful for print books, but you can make pretty nice things in word that would work for print books!

I used Illustrator to create the vector silhouettes of my cover.
I used Photoshop to create the splashy colourful background.
I used InDesign to assemble the cover all together and do the font work.

Finally I used photoshop to flatten everything to make sure that the final product was the same on the cover as it was on the screen.

Also, Colin. Be sure and show us the cover! We can help!

G.G. wrote: "Yep but by adding a third party, people will know I didn't cheat."

True, a third party does help with cheating. I have many dice and would happily roll one for you if requested.

Christina wrote: "But... But I'm so much more robot than a simple random number generator! I'm... Um... I do stuff! Good stuff!!! Like... All that good stuff I do! "

You sure are quick!
Your function is Write-O-Bot. WOB-CHR1ST!N4
Highly functional and wonderful. Best robot I know, kinda like Bender in awesomeness.

A random number generator would work just as well... that cuts out one robot (Christina) for another (RNG)! :D

Or you could roll a dice.

Side Note: Christina is awesome

Wonderful advice Jessica! Thank you for your thoughts.

I did not know that Goodreads informed people that had entered before! That is great news actually.

I do know that you should take a screenshot of your results, or make a note of them. Your numbers slowly diminish as time goes on. I think if someone removes their goodreads account or gets banned they no longer count towards 'how many people entered'.

Here is a great tip I just learned from our very own GG! She was very smart and timed a free ebbok giveaway at the end of her goodreads giveaway. That let everyone who entered but didn't win to get a free copy anyways if they so wished.

This let her get to #1 in her category on Amazon! Certainly a great strategy that I am going to do next time!

I have about the same amount of physical copies of my book as ebooks, and I still love having the options! In person though, physical books cannot be beat. I have them in bookstores around here, and gave them to my beta readers, and sold them.

I made a giveaways tips thread somewhere, it wouldn't hurt to check that out first, or even send me a message directly and I can help!

As others have said a physical copy is great for many reasons, and I will add another:
You can give your book away on Christmas to everyone you know that gives out pictures of their kids as gifts!

If you break down any story far enough it will become like many other broken down stories. It really isn't a problem, as one 'The Quest' can be vastly different than a different 'The Quest'.

We really would need more information to determine if Ellen's husband actually has a valid concern or not. :) If the basic premise is the same, then there is no problem at all, if large sections of the plot line up, then there is a need for concern.

No Concern = There is a school for aspiring magicians and magic is real.
Concern = The is a magical girl named Mary who lives in a closet under the stairs because her parents were killed by evil magic, and she goes to the English Wizard school of Pigbumps, and she has two friends named Harriet and Rob...

A lot can be done with a hand drawn map, gimp, free paper textures, and multiply layers!

It really can turn a hand drawn map into a beautiful thing in a few minutes!

Truth be told, unless the font is horrible, most people do not notice the font. :)

For printed text in a book Serif fonts are the king and for good reason. They really do help legibility over large areas.

There are a few great fonts for book interiors.

Times New Roman is a great font. Due to it being a default font of Word for so long though, and because it is often required for book submissions, it can be considered 'overused' by some, so be mindful. (of course in most Ebooks it doesn't matter much)

Minion, It is probably best to avoid other default fonts for the same reason as Times New Roman. Minion is one of these fonts, but it is just so nice it is hard not to use. It is far more modernly default (in Adobe's book layout program no less), so you can still use it and it still feels fresh, but it might make your work age faster as the font becomes becomes more mainstream.

I used Garamond in my book because it had all the Glyphs I needed. It is a very common book font, bit it looks like a different Times New Roman which can set it apart!

Electra is a nice font as well, it is thinner and gives your pages a lighter airy look. It is a bit harder to read when smaller due to the thinner look, so be mindful and maybe avoid it if your reader base is at reading glasses age.

New Baskerville is a fine font as well, it looks a bit antique though, so it doesn't perform as well in modern books or sci-fi. Fantasy and historical works though, it shines.

There are many others of course. Remember, changing the font is easy. You can print off a page of your book with different fonts and see what 'feels' right. It is amazing what a difference a font can make. It can set the mood of your work, it can set the tone, it can do many things... but don't stress! ^-^

'Weird' huh? Sounds like a great idea, and a great character Christina! I can also do weird. (You knew that, but still)

Here is a main character to a completely different fictional franchise than my book (but I still made up).

Name: Ni Hao Bunny©
Gender: Female
Occupation: Bunny/Main character of Ni Hao Bunny & Friends/Racecar driver
Race: Two-Dimensional Cartoon Bunny
Powers: Sickeningly cute, Speaks Russian, Has a dimensional purse that can fit anything
Quote: Ni Hao Bunny© doesn't say anything.

Description: A character from a completely unrelated franchise who is a parody of Hello Kitty, Ni Hao Bunny© is referenced occasionally by characters as something that does exist in the real world. Mostly they use her when something is far too cute for it's own good, but she has also been used to explain what dimensional transcendence is, and as 'the last straw' breaking moment for a tragic character's arc.

When I give out or sell physical copies of my book in person it comes with a Ni Hao Bunny© bookmark. (much to everyone's confusion)