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Monday 31 March 2014

Publishing Mistakes of an Indie Author: Print size.

It's now just over a year since I ventured in to the world of becoming an Indie Author. For those not sure what that term means it's 'Independent Author' as in Self Published with no Publishing House backing. Let me tell you, I don't regret a thing.

I made mega mistakes in that first year:-

1. PROBLEM
Paperback no. 1 was printed in such a tiny font, it couldn't even be read with an eyeglass. I'm talking not even no.6 font, it must have been something like no.2 font (if there is such a thing).  I hear you ask, Why didn't Amazon realise this? Well, in this business you are mainly alone. They check for certain things, but that obviously wasn't one of them. I had many headaches trying to work out what the problem was, it seemed alright in the e-version,

SOLUTION: I finally tracked it down. I had let someone else download my book for me, because I was too nervous to do it myself. Turns out I should have had more confidence in my own abilities. After checking all the settings, I realised the margins were totally incorrect on the original downloaded version. It had been downloaded as if it was an A4 sheet. Easy mistake when you have absolutely no publishing experience whatsoever.

LESSON LEARNED:  Now, as I write on my computer, I set the margins so I'm actually working on the same size page as I type. If the e-version proof for my paperback indicates the text has gone over the lines, I simply go back to my computer and alter the margins, usually making them larger. Then download again onto Amazon.

Fortunately, no one but me had purchased the book (400+ pages), so no harm done in the public eye.

In my next post I'll tell you about my Editing issues.

Saturday 15 March 2014

The ongoing work of my fantasy omnibus

Every now and then I do some Forward Planning for my writing and every now and then, I end up changing it. At the beginning of 2014 I planned to produce all three of my fantasy books as an Omnibus. I do still plan to do this in 2014, but in the middle of the year instead of the beginning.

Why did I change my plans?
Well, I set out to do some editing via Prowritingaid electronic editing software. This certainly opened my eyes, wide open. By doing this, it will improve my books no end. So instead of doing a wee bit of editing, I'm now doing chapter by chapter for all three books. No changes to the plots but it is definitely improving my writing. Also, on the plus side, whilst I cannot afford a professional editor, this is the next best thing. It is long and laborious and will take approx. 3 months. Hence my delay. However, it will be worth it. The books will also flow better in the omnibus, as they is how they were written initially, as one book.

If you are interested in purchasing my omnibus then please join my 'Personal e-mail list'  This way you will receive a personal email from me, prior to publication when it will initially be at its cheapest. I don't send out many emails, just to let readers know when I'm running a promotion on my books. 

Friday 14 March 2014

Fantasy Book Review:Succubus Blues-R Mead


BOOK REVIEW: 4/5 stars

Succubus Blues: 1 (Georgina Kincaid 1) [Paperback] 

Richelle Mead


Good all round fantasy story. I found the beginning a bit mundane ie characters going about their everyday lives on Earth such as going to work, coming home etc. Approximately a third of the way through, I really started to enjoy things a bit more as the action started. The plot is based a lot on relationships developing and I'm not a great romantic. However, the author managed to capture me in the web weaving plot of murders, and the main female character soon grew on me. I would have liked to have got to know the vampires better, but they were more background people. Will definitely go on to read the next book in the series

Sunday 9 March 2014

Fantasy Website Update

Aarabassa World Website Link

Things are happening on my fantasy webpage:
*Making categories easier (bear with me as I'm not quite there yet)
*Added a new character image (visit my site to see who this is)
*Mentioned about the release of my upcoming Omnibus (all 3 books in one), Series One to be published in 2014.
*Added my email 'sign up' link for readers to hear all news about my writing, first hand.

Unfortunately there is not a 'follow' button for this site, but please pop in every now and then to find out what's happening in Aarabassa and use the email 'sign up' for instant updates.