Fonts! Spacing! So many details in an ebook

On Kindle my book, Soul Mates, was an easy read. Now attempting to send it to Create Space for a paperback copy.

I have a ...what do they call it? Sample copy? Anyway I hate the font! Its very light and that alone makes it hard to read. So I know I have to change this. Do I make it Arial rounded? Times New Roman? Courier? Do I bold it?

What about spacing? I think it might be better double spaced or am I only thinking that because of the font issue?

Decisions, decisions....

A friend spotted an error in the ebook, so I'm reading it backwards (brain-drain!) to try and catch the typo. I wish she had noted the page number, but she said "next time" so that will help for the next book. I do see I sometimes miss little words like "an" or "the" when I'm editing my own work. I think my brain knows it so it tells me it sees things that aren't there. Weird.   Do they teach copywriter classes?

Still watching Zimmerman trial....It's addictive!

Favorite fonts? Do you bold?

The devil is truly in the details...

Editing, Time, and Zimmerman

Time...such an illusive thing.
The Zimmerman trial is eating up my time.
I love court room stuff in movies, books and Judge Judy. Now there's a real life drama being played out in Florida and its eating up my time.
I lack discipline! I know!
I should be ...ewww... yuk....editing. My main prob in my WIP is missing little words like "the", "to", "and". I know this but unfortunately there's no search for this in Word. A word I use too much of is "just", but that's an easy fix. I just search for that word in the doc and edit it out. But to try and find one of the little missing words you have to either read the manuscript backwards (mind-bending) or read the entire book out loud like a robot, enunciating each word carefully. I sometimes do this on the back deck, pacing back and forth--I'm sure the neighbors think I'm bonkers.

I think the reason I'm so caught up in the Zimmerman trial is because of the odd law in Florida for Stand Your Ground and the fact that it could go either way. Guilty? Maybe. It seems he stalked this boy and, although he's trying to fall back on the neighborhood watch thing, he didn't follow those rules. Innocent? If he started the altercation by stalking this kid, could he still be found innocent? The outcome could go either way so I'm interested. And ...maybe addicted.

I have to wonder if I'm so interested in this trial because, psychologically, I don't want to edit.
Today I have to remember writing is my job and get to my work. Sometimes working from home, I forget that this is my job and I must go to it or I'll go nowhere in this world.

Anyone else watching the trial?

Indie Book Cover Trama

 Now that I've finished the manuscript and I'm waiting for the edits to come back, I'm playing with book covers. At this point as an unemployed, starving writer I have to do this myself. If any of my books actually take off, i'd definitely hire a cover artist, because I'm at a loss here.

Two covers ideas so far;
First the fire represents a fire the main character accidentally causes  that burns down the police station. The dog is a dog she finds that offers some comedy relief in the story.
The woman...well I really didn't want a yoga type woman but needed something to represent the main character.

Cover two; Depicts a scene from the beginning of the book. You'd have to read it to know but I thought it might entice readers to find out what it means. The "Not for Sale" tag relates to the human trafficking problem the main character encounters in the story.

Still not sure if I'm done figuring this out. But that's all I have so far.

Any preferences? I'm taking votes.

Back to the drawing board....

Book Finished....

Since losing my job last December, I've decided to take on the writing full time. I get up at 6 a.m. and I'm dressed and at my desk at 9 a.m. ready to write. Its a job, I go there everyday. Except for two or three days after I finish a book. 

Yesterday I finished No Apologies so today I'm off. Weirdly, on my off day(s) I tend to wander and get nothing done. I almost feel lost. It's like that world I lived in for months has evaporated. 

I don't want to jump to another world just yet, I think I have to clear my head first. 

I work on book covers. 

Think up new names for the book. (No Apologies gets a few hits on Amazon with other books by the same name so I probably need to change it)

Wander aimlessly around the house.

Thursday afternoon I start back to work. I can't wait. 

Betrayed by an Angel on Amazon

My book, Betrayed by an Angel is now Available on Amazon!

When an angel appears to tell Shay Deville she can’t marry her fiancé because she will forever alter his destiny, she thinks she is going crazy. Shay learns she was supposed to die seven months ago, but Merrick, her own guardian angel, broke angelic law and saved her. Now she is a woman without a future – or a guardian.

In spite of the angel’s warning Shay refuses to give up her dreams. She hunts down Merrick, her renegade angel, and demands he help her.

Guardian Angel Merrick knows the Heavenly Handbook better than anyone, but when the time came to help Shay Deville cross over, he just couldn't do it. Now Merrick is stripped of his wings and banished to the earthly realm until he corrects his mistakes and completes the destiny of his charge. But how can Merrick arrange to take Shay’s life when he has fallen in love with her? How can he not?

Will Merrick give up his wings and forever be cast to Earth for the woman he loves?

Can a woman without a destiny ever find happiness, or true love?

COVER ISSUES: 
The cover is from a photo I took in Key West last year. I really wanted a winged (Angel) man on the cover but all the cover shots available that I saw on various websites either had goofy wings or, when searched for angels on Amazon, were already being used on other books.  Short of dressing up one one of the guys I know in a pair of wings...I wasn't going to get a cover I'd absolutely love. So I liked this one next. When I tried to photo shop wings onto something ...well, they never felt good enough. 

Soon this book, and Soul Mates, will also be available in paperback. 
I'm also working on torturing my characters in my next book; No Apologies. 

Writing is Easy

I'm beginning to think writing is the easiest part, because doing a book cover is frying my brain. I'm fairly artistic but really more of a painter than graphic computer artist. I have all the tools; Photoshop, Publisher, Microsoft Picture editor and stuff like that. I'm not great at making them work but I can usually get these programs to do what I want.

Now I'm considering paying for a book cover because I'm really not happy with what I got now. However my first book has made peanuts, mostly I think because I've ignored the little dear, but I'd kind of like to get to the place where my earnings could pay for things like book covers.

And how important is the cover when we're looking at Amazon on the computer? I mean the covers are like an inch big. Of course book blasts do give the cover more exposure but still...how good is good enough?
I think I've been a writer for so long, I've forgotten how to be an average reader. I mean, title and back blurb are what I look for. Am I seeing the cover and just not registering it?

Each day I change my mind. I make covers, remake covers, scrap covers and the frustration grows.
One of my pet-peeves is when a book cover does not match the story. Like there's a dark haired guy on the cover and the main character has blond hair. It messes with the image in my head and I want to scream at the publisher. Am I going to be the customer from hell if I try to buy a cover?

Do you buy covers? From where? Were you happy with your cover? Do you make your own?

Sing who contest- Jacqadactle

I am taking this intermission from writing posts to support a shameless plug for my daughter's singing contest on Sing Who. This is a place on the net where people compete for prizes by singing. This contest is Rihanna's song, "Stay".
Stop by and vote for my daughter, screen name; Jacqadactle!
http://beta.singwho.com/contests/watch/Rihanna_Stay/921#!id=921
http://beta.singwho.com/contests/watch/Rihanna_Stay/921#!id=921
Sign me,
Proud Mama

Amazon Ranking for Writers

I'm not understanding Amazon's ranking system. I check my rank (probably too much) but it fluctuates constantly. What's up with that?

Its never great..ever. But I watch it anyway. You know, average day...check Amazon rank, think about blogs, page views, check Amazon rank, check for new reviews, maybe open latest WIP, check Amazon rank before starting. Coffee break, check rank again.

The rank is constantly going up and down by thousands. What does this mean? Does it rise and fall by page views? It certainly can't be for sales. At least not with this book so far.

Can we improve it? Am I doing something to wreck it that I don't know about?

Okay, now someone tell me how to stop watching it. Its almost as addictive as facebook.

A Writer's Block Kind of Week

Absolutely no writing this week and I'm feeling really bad about that fact. When I step away from a story too long I feel a bit of a disconnect somewhere in my ...well, not my brain really...more like my soul, that inner emotional connection that helps me to live and breathe the characters.

Last Sunday my credit card got hacked and I guess I went a little nutzo. I think it was such a shock since I always guard my card super uber carefully. I double check every time I put it in my purse, never use it on shady sites or places. I think it was the guy in that little liquor store I stopped in on Saturday night but the bank is investigating. Kudos to my bank for catching this so fast. They were great. They asked if we catch who did this would I prosecute? HELL YES!

Last Saturday the groomer found a lump on Gracie's (my Shih Tzu) paw. Vet visit on Monday.  She went for surgery on Friday. She's home now and limping but should get better. We're just waiting on the biopsy.

Then we see the horrible things that happened in Boston. I have friends who are avid runners, luckily, after a few calls we find out everyone is safe. But the images of this tragedy have a way of staying with us.
My daughter used to live in Watertown, its a beautiful little community and we spent the week sending prayers up to the people there.

We're still reeling from Boston and that big explosion happens in Texas. Something that didn't get enough press this week. So many dead and injured. I still haven't heard how it happened. Our healing thoughts and prayers go out to them too.

Too much on my mind to write. Every time I'd steal a few minutes to write I just couldn't concentrate. My mind was going in a million different directions. I'd turn the T.V. off, sit and wonder what was going on in the world. Get nothing done. Turn T.V. back on. Get nothing done.

Discipline!

Read through the pages. Try to write.Try to get my head back into the story.

Get nothing done. Give up. Go cuddle dog.

Let's hope the planets align, the world calms and peace and healing descends on our little planet. Let's have a good week peeps.

You're Not Jesse James

        
No one’s going to remember you. They won’t think you were cool or something special. History might to say you were mentally ill or just something to be pitied and punished. You bombed the Boston Marathon but you’re not what we’ll remember. You’re already yesterday’s news.

We’ll remember the survivors for their fortitude and courage. We’ll remember the heroes who responded with compassion and guts to run into the chaos and save lives.

           You bombed the Boston Marathon and now the world thinks you’re a jerk. Something found smushed and smelly on the bottom of a shoe. They won’t remember you as an outlaw or an amazing human that you could do such a thing. They’ll think you’re just a bad person, someone no one wants to know or deal with in life. They’ll want you flushed down a toilet because that’s what your actions showed you are, just a living turd.

           What we will remember is those who ran toward the blast to help. We’ll remember the police, the FBI, and paramedics and doctors who ran to the rescue. These people became heroes that day and will forever go down in history as loving, good human beings who went the extra mile to save lives. They showed courage beyond imagination. From the brave people in the media who stayed to help and share the story, to Google who was one of the first to set up a link to find loved ones, to the city officials in Boston who jumped into action, these people are all heroes. These are the ones with stories to tell and to whom we’ll give our hearts, praise and thanks.

           You’re not Jesse James or any other kind of famous outlaw. Soon we will forget your name and your life and know you only as the asshole who tried to hurt people. Whatever your reason for doing this, we don’t care. We only save caring for those who deserve it. You’ll be caught and soon. You’re trial will be a joke because there’s not a jury in America that won’t throw the book at you. 

         The only question left; Does Massachusetts have the death penalty? 

Writing 556 Pages

Writing sometimes comes easy. I have one story I wrote a few years ago that's 556 pages. I don't know why this story went on for so long, I guess it just had a lot to say.

After I send No Apologies out the door, Threshold of Midnight is up next. This 556 page moose does need some reworking but the story line is pretty solid. But who the heck will commit to read 556 pages? I think the size of this book might be a turn off so I'm thinking of breaking it in half and do a "Book One" and "Book Two" thing with it.

Which brings a whole lot of other issues in because I believe both books should be stand alone. I wouldn't want someone grabbing book two and spending 225 pages lost in space.

This is going to require some thinking. I have to let it settle in my brain a bit before I get started. But I still have to finish No Apologies and I have about 50 pages to go in the final draft. In this book I changed the story line about half way though so I had to rewrite it all the way through. I almost didn't. I just wanted to put No Apologies on the shelf and move on. The only thing that stopped me was that I liked my main character and wanted to breathe life into her. And I liked her quirky little dog.

Have you ever had a manuscript so long that you feared its marketability? What did you do?

Writing Business Trials

Writing is the easy part. Editing not so hard. Then comes putting it out there. Setting your baby free into the world. That's hard at first but then it gets easier. The first one flies, the next, soon you're flinging your written works of art out there without a care. You know you did your best and you let it sail.

Now comes the hard part. The business end of writing. Marketing....eeeek! Does anyone really like this aspect of book sales?

I remember when Konrath got his first contract for a 3 book deal. He went crazy with marketing. I think the work he did then, still follows him today. People he met along the journey, people who respected the work he did to get his book into as many hands as possible. I know I watched his journey, paid attention to his techniques and ideas. Could I do the same? I'm not sure. Should we all do the same? Maybe.

My daughter who has some freelance and marketing experience is helping me with marketing. She's got great ideas and the energy to make it happen. And she's a bit of a slave driver (which I need!). When I'm monkeying around with book cover art she tells me to stop playing and get back to writing.

Once Betrayed is up and running I'm thinking of paying for a book blast. I have Soul Mates registered for a kboards email and post ($15 fee) for May 24th. I'm thinking of Orangeberry but not sure if it's too soon.

Any other ideas? Okay, back to writing.....

Writing Ideas & Organization

Every good writer has ideas. The problem arises when there are too many ideas or we lack the ability...commitment... to see the idea through to a full length novel. (Or novella if that's how you fly)

Always before I had a full time day job or I was raising kids and doing car pool every day. I barely had time to think, let alone actually write something that wasn't just a few pages. I have a few books finished but only in first or weak second drafts.

Now I'm unemployed and if I ever wanted to make writing my job now was the time to give it a go. I don't need to make a million dollars but to get a little income rolling would be rewarding.

I have dozens of books outlined. Ideas are easy. Taking them through to perfection...not so much. I know I have a tendency to want to get it done now. I'm from New Jersey. We do everything fast here; talk fast, walk fast, work fast. Not always a good thing. Especially when writing.

I write it start to finish, read through and edit. Then print out and edit line by line. Enter those edits into the computer. Read through start to finish send to editor. Get it back, fix what ever needs fixing and then off it goes to the editor...hopefully for the last time. (Not always the case, but it seems to be working.)

So what's your magic? One draft or two? The process?
How long does it take you to get a book from start to end?

Writing the Book Back Blurb

Writing that little catch that lets people know what your book is about? Either on the back of the book or Amazon. Writing the blurb to lure people into buying your book takes real talent. It's one of the hardest things to do. Take the story you've spend months, hours, weeks, years working on, a story with many bends, twists and turns, and shove it into a few lines. Lines that have to be good enough to make the reader want to see more. Are you exciting enough? Daring enough? Do you need to tug heart strings? Use keywords so they can find you in that big old web?

I rewrite my blurbs over and over. I put the book, Soul Mates up on Amazon and sold a few, nothing amazing. So now my next book, Betrayed by an Angel will be going up soon and I started rethinking my other blurb. So I changed it from;

After dying on mean city streets a woman goes to heaven and begs God to reincarnate to bring the message of unconditional love back to earth. Follow the adventure when a deal with God goes terribly wrong she's tossed back to earth as one of the smallest dogs on the planet.

to;

     She was dying. Her life draining away on a hot city sidewalk and she gave it up willingly. Life had been hard and she was ready. With a jolt and a prayer she awakens in Heaven.

     Through her flows all the joy and wonder of existence and she comes face to face with God. Overwhelmed, she begs to reincarnate to share this wonderful message of God’s unconditional love with those on earth. Will God give her this chance?

     One thing before she goes, “Please,” she begs. “I want to be blond and petite and find my soul mate in this new life.”

     Poof! She wakes up on earth as one of the smallest dogs on the planet!

                                                  Does God have a sense of humor or what?

Is it any better? Some of my sources says it still needs work. I just don't know what. 

Now I'm writing the blurb to book 2 and still struggling. Like that 2 minute agent elevator pitch, that little eye catching book blurb mystifies me. I think its a special talent to think in words so brief. My mind tends to ramble. 

So? How's your blurb talent? 

Writers & Book Covers & Choices

I've gotten some feedback on my choice of book cover so I'm trying to redo it. I have a few people helping and I'm very grateful for their ideas. It gives me so much more to think about now. I'm still not sure which way to go. On one I liked the wings better than the wings I  made.

This book is a romance involving angels. There was a great angel picture on the net that would be perfect but it would cost at least $120. That's without checking licensing. Some pictures I found, after checking the fee for book cover usage, were outrageously priced.  Most romance covers have hot guys or girls on the cover but actually, I don't want to pay that much money at this point. My first book isn't making that  much money so I'm on more of a shoestring budget right now.  I think I can generate an adequate cover on my own. (okay, make that HOPE I can generate an adequate cover)

What do we need when looking at a cover? Bold title? Eye catching background? What's your way of designing a cover? What's the first step?

I look at the cover designer that Konrath uses. He does great work and is reasonably priced. Maybe someday when any of these books generate some money I'll invest in his covers.

So I come here for a vote. Pick your favorite? Or tell me I'm totally off base here and none will help sell the book. It's okay, I need advice!

Writers Designing Book Covers

Since I'm an unemployed writer and not seeing any great sales (yet), I'm doing my own book covers. I do them in photoshop and publisher, change to a pdf and done!

Eventually I'll hire a book cover designer and maybe my covers will get awesome but for now I make due with what I can do.

In searching photo sites i found a great picture for the cover of my next book, Betrayed by an Angel. The book is about a guardian angel who refuses to help a woman cross over when she dies. Instead he saves her life. Because he didn't follow the rules he's banished to earth as human. There's more to this book but when i found a pic of a man with angel wings, head bent down, looking sad I thought it would be a perfect for the cover. I went to purchase it and if i wanted it for a book cover it would have cost $1000.

Really? Holy crap! My first car didn't cost that much. (okay it was a crappy little Maverick-but I loved it)

So I winged it and made a different kind of cover. It's kinda close to the cover for my first book which I don't think is too good an idea but until I come up with a better concept, it is what it is.     First book: Soul Mates
Second book: Betrayed by an Angel      

Writing Ten Pages

I read Stephen King stays at his desk until he writes at least ten pages.
Sounds easy, right?

Sometimes, I guess it is. Today, not so much. I've never had such a hard time squeezing out ten pages. I kept starting to stand up and then dropping back into the chair, remembering I promised myself ten pages today.

I'm drawn to this vampire story for some reason. Its a little outside my usual writing, but its like exploring a new land. I want to see where its going to go. The ten pages today were torture. I finished about 3 o'clock. Not too bad overall but the writing was hard. I counted every minute, every word, every page.

Then I finished editing the first 100 pages of another book. Tonight I'll print out another 100 pages and edit that between other working on other stuff.

I decided to start setting goals from reading Zoe Winters' site. She does word count each day and she's fairly prolific.

Do you set writing goals? What are they? Do they
help?

That's Hemingway's cat cemetery. -->
He really did love his kitties.

Free or Cheap Book Sales

Hoping my next ebook will be out shortly, I've made Soul Mates 99 cents. Also, I should have it in print soon. Not that I'm expecting any great increase in sales but I've had a few less tech savvy people ask for a paperback copy.

I'm researching marketing now. Book blasters (I'm not sure that's the technical term-places that send out emails of your book to their lists) and book bloggers. Holy Bejeebers! This is time consuming. I've been at it all morning and still don't know what the freak I'm going to do. Pay, don't pay, beg, steal, borrow, plead?

I'm cranking up my marketing strategy because from what I've read on Konrath and Amanda Hocking's blogs ...that's the thing to do to increase your sales. Amanda said her sales really took off after contacting book bloggers. That surprised me. I only wish she had told me who she sent her book to, which bloggers. But I guess I can google that. Right now I'm tired of all this market research. Its exhausting and I haven't written a word all day. Which makes me feel guilty. Since I'm unemployed I don't really want to pay a lot of money, but wonder if this is something that should be invested in for long term gains. I don't need to be a millionaire. (although I will be going out today to buy some Powerball tickets -->260 million<-- a=""> ) I just don't want to have to return to the cubical. 

Ok, Enough of a vent. I'm going to take my cranky-pants back into my office and write something worth reading. If anyone has any ideas for promoting ebooks PLEASE tell me!

Down Time

One book written, more in the Body Count (that's the name of the file I keep all my half finished manuscripts in). So do I plunge in and do a second (third, forth..) draft on something from the Body Count or take a break?

Sometimes I think a break will clear my head and make moving on to the next book easier. Other times I just want to write badly for a while. I want to through stuff down without worrying about proper placement, punctuation or flow. I want to finish a vampire story that I started last year. It will probably go nowhere because someone told me vamps are over and zombies are now in.

Is that true?

Will vampires ever go out of style? Those sexy creatures of the night? I mean vamps have been in since  Ann Rice made the big splash so long ago. And how about the original Dracula? Barnabas Collins?

I have a book with zombies too but I don't feel like working on that. It's 500 pages. I'm not sure how that fell out of my head, but the rewrite will be hell.

Pic is the desk parts. Sketching in where the burn will be. Next step --> the top sketch.

So, when you finish a book do you take a break or jump right in? Are vamps really out?

Writer's Desk

 They may look like random pieces of wood, but soon they will be my new writing desk.
With pictures
and colors.

I'm going to burn it with images and words that will inspire me. Some just because they're pretty, some because they mean something.

Below is the rough sketch of ideas. It might or might not end up like that but only time and paint will tell.

I think writing is part creativity, part tools, part time. And mostly ass in chair.
Thinking about the old writers advice, "Ass in Chair" I'm thinking of burning those words into my desk in an inconspicuous place where I'll know they're there, but others might not notice. then I wonder if it would be too crude?

But first I have 50 more pages to finish editing for my new ebook, Disregarding Heaven. Hopefully it will be up on Amazon in a week or two.

And I need a cover. Unemployed, I'm probably going to do it myself. Something simple. When my books actually start making money, I'll hire a cover artist. For now, I'm all I've got. Maybe tomorrow we can talk about covers and how to figure that stuff out.