Thanks guys, bringing my book to market is proving to be a bit of a learning curve,but the challenge it presents is an opportunity to be a writer. Something I've always wanted to be.
Currently I'm working on the cover typography, up to version three so far. Lots to think about and, the choices between flashy crowd pleasing typography versus a solid sense of craft that makes each book look like part of a series.
You've probably come across arguments for both. There are some readers who think "oh, this is book 2 of a series, I won't buy it, book 1 isn't here on the shelf, I'll buy something else instead". There are others who like the covers to look uniform or spot the new one in the series because it looks like the last one.
But I don't know any of these people. I don't know people who buy new books in shops, or based on the cover, at all any more. I don't know how many of them are left, or how they think.
I'm guessing one of the cover design tasks is to make the thing look reasonable at 100 pixels wide…
Looking at the books I've read recently, the last one that wasn't a personal recommendation, a continuation of a series, or part of the Hugo-Nebula Reread, was David Hambling's The Elder Ice - and I think that was an algorithmic recommendation on Goodreads.
(The usual warning applies: people who market to appeal to me are not marketing for bulk sales, to the point that "doesn't appeal to Roger" may actually be correlated with higher sales to everyone else.)
TFL Painting Challenge: Second April Update
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A second April update to keep on top ofall the entries coming in.
First up, Mr Helliwell, who switches his attention back to 15mm Napoelonics
with a larg...
Okay for AK...47
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We played AK47 Republic (classic edition) back in January after a break of
a few years. As we were likely to have an even number show for this week's
gam...
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*If the blog seems a bit dead,* it is a combination of (a) school busyness
(b) moving house and (c) Google's 2FA (ok, the latter seems a bit lame but
it ...
Second World War German Fallschirmjager in 20mm
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German Fallschirmjager units served throughout the war and in several
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ShireCon 24
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While lamenting the loss of our No 1 Wargaming apprentice (who regularly
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Dark Places
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Okay, I have an old scenario of mine, Body & Soul, featured in Dark Places
published by John Curry.
You can get your copy from Amazon.
What can I say, ...
The Canadian Wargamer Podcast Is Back
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James and I catch up after a few months off, in a conversation that
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Sharp Practice: Silencing Singh the Sniper
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Despite the successful defence of the Mission House at Pershawarinan, the
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Not Quite Back Yet
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My work crazyness finally ended mid week, though it could pick up for four
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The Miller's Tale - Episode 9
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Episode 9: in which Mike once again attempts to remember how the heck the
Heath Robinson-esque collection of RSS feed generator, local webspace and
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Williamsburg Muster
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I ran the Speeder Bike game again with a few minor adjustments to the
track and the rules. I put a gate on the other side of the Hutt palace, to
create ...
Happy New Year
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Hi everyone, normally I would be posting my "review of the year" today and
my plan for 2024 tomorrow.
But as some of you may know I'm poorly in hospital...
A different kind of convention (for me anyway)
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Earlier this month, my wife and I went to our first ever science fiction
convention: ArmadilloCon here in the Austin area.
My wife did confess that at f...
More Freakin Hexes
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About ten years ago I had this idea for terrain hexes. About five years ago
I started making some when i got my first laser cut. Then I had a thirty
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BIG Chain of Command Free to Download
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Recording the latest Oddcast, I suddenly realised that I couldn’t find the
free to download BIG Chain of Command file on the web site. So, here it is.
It’s...
More Cleaning
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If I ever pick coding back up, I should:
- rebuild my "History of BattleTech" chart to be dynamic and interactive;
- make a widget which scrapes my b...
The Sumos 2021*
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You know what the asterisk means. Again. I have played more games this year
than 2020, but am still well down on my usual 200+. However, I am back to
twent...
Review: Oathmark Goblin Wolf Riders
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The Goblin Wolf Riders are the first Oathmark models I have bought and I
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The Genie is Out of the Bottle.
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More minis from the box of shame.
This time a trader with his camel train and somen beastmen to waylay him.
I also made some table funishings and a table...
Kerensky Fried Chicken
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3D printing is a lot of fun, especially when applied to BattleTech. This is
the first of many models I will probably be printing this year and shows
just a...
I had the good fortune to be asked to write for the BattleTech universe by Sam Lewis. I had written to him suggesting a TRO to cover ...
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Looks good.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great. Makes me look forward to the book even more.
ReplyDeleteVery cool!
ReplyDeleteNice !!!
ReplyDeleteCertainly piques my curiosity.
Thanks guys, bringing my book to market is proving to be a bit of a learning curve,but the challenge it presents is an opportunity to be a writer. Something I've always wanted to be.
ReplyDeleteThat looks cool!
ReplyDeleteCurrently I'm working on the cover typography, up to version three so far. Lots to think about and, the choices between flashy crowd pleasing typography versus a solid sense of craft that makes each book look like part of a series.
ReplyDeleteYou've probably come across arguments for both. There are some readers who think "oh, this is book 2 of a series, I won't buy it, book 1 isn't here on the shelf, I'll buy something else instead". There are others who like the covers to look uniform or spot the new one in the series because it looks like the last one.
DeleteBut I don't know any of these people. I don't know people who buy new books in shops, or based on the cover, at all any more. I don't know how many of them are left, or how they think.
I'm guessing one of the cover design tasks is to make the thing look reasonable at 100 pixels wide…
You know me, and I still buy books in shops, and often a book cover will attract me to read the blurb.
DeleteFair enough!
DeleteLooking at the books I've read recently, the last one that wasn't a personal recommendation, a continuation of a series, or part of the Hugo-Nebula Reread, was David Hambling's The Elder Ice - and I think that was an algorithmic recommendation on Goodreads.
(The usual warning applies: people who market to appeal to me are not marketing for bulk sales, to the point that "doesn't appeal to Roger" may actually be correlated with higher sales to everyone else.)
I bought and read The Elder Ice after reading your review, and I suspect it's not the sort of book one would find in Forbidden Planet.
Delete