Proof Positive

The proof for my new book arrived today!

For those who aren’t hip to the lingo, a proof is the physical copy of your book that you get, so that you can check for printing errors and give the book a good look before making it available in paperback form. It has the cover art and all of that, so it’s really the first chance that you have to hold your baby book in your arms and look at what you’ve created.

There are issues with my proof. Little things that I have to fix here and there, but for the most part, I’m pretty happy with it. I chose “cream” paper instead of “white” this time, which I think was a good call. It’s easier on the eyes and looks more like the rest of the books on my shelf. I liked white paper for my other books, because I thought it seemed cleaner and crisper, but the cream feels right for this one.

In terms of font, I went with Book Antiqua this time. I know that it seems like you’d just use whichever font you happened to land on when writing a book, but it took me a while to finally settle on this one. It has a nice classic look to it. It’s easy to read. It’s not too showy.

One of the other elements that I had to put some thought into was the chapter numbers. Did I want to spell out “Chapter One” or simply put in a “1”? For this book, I opted for the simple number headers, with a drop shadow. I was worried that the shadow would look cheesy, but it actually came out pretty nice.

There are small things here and there that I need to fix. Some programs automatically add hyperlinks when you type out a URL, so I have to go through and make sure that there are no hyperlinks in the file that I’m using for the paperbacks. I also have to fix some of the wording in the copyright information. And this is why we get a proof… If you go through the process (and you don’t have “people” for this sort of thing) make sure that you look at all of the little details once you have the book in your hand. What you missed on a computer screen could look a lot more obvious on paper.

 

You can look at the paperback copy of Freedom/Hate yourself, when it goes on sale on April 19, 2016. If you’d prefer to read the digital copy, you can pre-order the book now by clicking here.

Author Profile : Erin Lale

Every so often, I hope to spotlight some of the other authors out there, both with book reviews and with author profiles. Profiles are made up of basic information about the author, giving readers the information that they need to find and follow the writer in question.

(This is the first author profile on my blog. Don’t be surprised if the format changes a bit over time)

 

Author: Erin Lale

Erin is a writer of science fiction, nonfiction, among other genres. Her latest project is a Viking-themed anthology called No Horns On These Helmets, for which she not only serves as writer (along with several other authors), but also as the book’s editor.

Her short story, Woodencloak, appears in the book. It is the retelling of the classic Katie Woodencloak folktale.

Hear Erin talk about the her work on Freedomizer Radio’s Proof Negative on Thursday, March 17, at 8:00pm pacific time.

 

For more information on No Horns On These Helmets, CLICK HERE.

For more information on Erin Lale, visit her AUTHOR PAGE.

 

 

Five Years Earlier…

As I continue to prepare my new book, Freedom/Hate for release (pre-order your copy today!), I have had some old friends stopping by for a visit in my head.

Five years ago this month, I sat down to begin writing Starlette (purchase your copy today!). It’s hard to tell whether I should feel as though it were only yesterday, or if it feels like a hundred years have passed since then. Either way, it was an exciting time for me.

The story began, oddly enough, five years earlier. As I was watching the Oscars red carpet show on television, I couldn’t help but get annoyed with the actors that I was listening to. The way they spoke about their films being “important” irritated me. They acted as though they were saving the world by making movies.

Interior Design (aka A Journey into the Abyss)

I’ve been thinking that I should use this blog as something more than what it’s been. This shouldn’t be too hard, since it hasn’t been much of anything.

What I’ve decided to try and do is document more of my writing/publishing process. This will be less for the enjoyment of you readers (since it will probably be boring), and more about me documenting my writerly struggles, so that my family will know that I don’t just watch funny kitten videos all day. (which I don’t do, because I’m a dog person)

Some of these blog entries will be more interesting than others. At the moment, I’m not building any worlds or having fun with characters. Today, I’m trying to format the print edition of my new book, Freedom/Hate.

(the Kindle version of Freedom/Hate will be released on April 19! Pre-order your copy today by clicking on this link!)

More About Kindle Scout

As I wrote last week, I currently have a campaign running on Kindle Scout. In that post, I talked about the book that I have listed on that page, but I didn’t talk a lot about the Kindle Scout site itself. I want to take some time to do that, because regardless of whether or not my own book gets published through the site, it still presents a great opportunity to budding young writers.

This post isn’t meant as a guide book for Kindle Scout, or an in-depth investigation into the pros and cons. It’s just my own take on the site.

 

So, what is Kindle Scout? 

Freedom/Hate on Kindle Scout!

As one of the youths would say (…in 1994), it is time to “rock the vote!”

For the past couple of years, I have been working on a new project called the Freedom/Hate. It’s a series of novels, set several decades from now, in a world where people have lost the basic rights that we take for granted today. It’s a world where there is no starvation, no homelessness, no unemployment, no lack of healthcare… but all of these privileges have been twisted into something ugly. People no longer have the freedom to choose what they eat, where they live, where they work, or how they are treated when sick. To speak out against the system is a criminal offense.

Freedom/Hate is about the struggle of some to reclaim those rights, and what may be an even harder struggle for others–the struggle to ignore what is happening to them out of fear of losing the only life they know.

So, I read “Fifty Shades of Grey”…

A while back, I was part of a conversation where people were talking about the Fifty Shades of Grey books. At that point, I had only read a part of the sample from Amazon and I was less than impressed with what I saw. I had a good time reading the reviews of the books, and making jokes about them but I had no desire to read on.

After that, I found myself working with a group of women who had read the books. I was listening to them talk about the books and I could see how enamored they were by them. Based on what little I had read, I couldn’t understand why they enjoyed these books so much. Certainly, there had to be sexy stories that were also well written, right?

I have this personality quirk where I like to understand where people are coming from. Even if I don’t agree, if I see people getting caught up in something like this, I will want to understand why. I’m the same with politics and TV shows too. I will watch TV shows that I don’t even like, just so I know what people are talking about and I can form a valid opinion on the subject. So… Fifty Shades of Grey. I wasn’t curious about the stories, I was curious about the reaction to the stories. Finally, I decided to sign into my local library’s ebook selection and read the books.

Sigh.