29 July 2017

#Editing 13: Print After Ebook?

Paperback - soon to be available
Pilgrims of the Pool is finished - except for the paperback.

The ebook edition has been out about ten days, and many thanks to all my readers who have re-Tweeted, shared my Facebook announcement, and even bought a copy. I do appreciate the help to get it noticed. As expected, one of the responses has been Where's the print version?

Mainstream publishers tend to launch print versions first, hardback, then paperback. Sometimes the ebook comes last, sometimes along with one of the print versions. The publishers' main intention is to maximise profit. Prior to the hardback release the publisher will have sent out ARCs (advance reading copies) aimed to maximise sales by having reviews ready to hit publications and retail sites on launch day.

Well-organised indie authors also send out ARCs to their 'street team' volunteers for exactly the same reason, gathering responses to quote on book covers. This takes some forward thinking, and when have I been so organised as to work that many months in advance?

Therefore I launch the ebook, promote it heavily for around a fortnight, and then start to check and format for print. By the time I've completed this I hope to have the first reviews in to be able to quote snippets, with permission, on the backblurb and the inside cover. As I key in this blog I already have two 5-star reviews up on Amazon, for which I am very grateful.

A note on formatting for print. Most publishers simply use a single formatted copy for both, but ebook and print are two different sized reading experiences. Print can comfortably carry longer paragraphing, whereas an ebook is usually read on a smaller screen. And who wants solid text margin-to-margin? The added benefit is that the novel gets yet another proofread en route.

So that's the state of play at the moment. When Pilgrims of the Pool is available as a print copy, I'll let you know.


See also: 
Editing-1: What Does Editing Actually Mean?
Editing-2: The Structural Edit
Editing-3: The Content Edit
Editing-4: The Line Edit
Editing-5: Line Edit Update 
Editing-6: Beta Readers 
Editing-7: Metadata 
Editing-8: Beyond Beta Readers
Editing-9: Writing in a Circle
Editing-10: Polishing the Novel
Editing-10A: Scheduling Hiccup
Editing-11: Scales Falling From My Eyes
Editing-12: Ebook Launch!


19 July 2017

#Editing 12: Pilgrims of the Pool - eBook Launch!

Pilgrims of the Pool is finished. And it is launch day! Yay!

Yes, finally, after much editing tribulation, Book 3 in the Torc of Moonlight trilogy has winged its way into the ether and is now available for download as an ebook at a launch discount. Get it while you can.

History lies mere inches beneath our feet.

Nick Blaketon leaves Durham to free Alice from the Celtic deity holding her prisoner at the Pool, echoing pilgrims who tread the route 900 years before seeking a fabled spring where an angel-woman cures all ills.

Alice is overjoyed to be reunited with Nick, but she is not the Alice he remembers. As is the land, she is transforming, and he feels caught between betrayals.

When her presence at the Pool is jeopardised by a hydraulic fracturing operation and the conservationists opposing it, Nick cannot walk away. But do the pilgrims pose a greater threat? What knowledge, handed down the generations, are the current landowners hiding?

As Time intersects, has Nick faith enough to change events in a mediaeval past of hallowed saints and conjured demons, or has Alice’s power to heal initiated her own demise? 


Book 1, Torc of Moonlight, is currently on offer at 99p.

Print will follow in due course. Why? That's for another blog post. 

8 July 2017

Book Promotion: Newsletter Subscribers

Pilgrims of the Pool is ready for formatting, except…it's not the only job in hand.

I tip my hat to those who can look at a calendar and mark the week research will end, writing will begin and end, first round editing will take place, and beta copies will be emailed. And all the rest that happens in between. I only wish I worked to that precision. It would make life so much less stressful. For me, bringing a novel to fruition and launching it to the reading world is akin to monitoring a hall full of spinning plates. Writing the novel is merely one of many. 

Promotion and marketing is equally important, and so much of that falls on stony ground I decided that with this novel I would especially target those who enjoy my type of writing and the sub-genre I'm currently writing in.

Cross-promotions, authors helping authors spread the word, I am finding most useful. So is Instafreebie, which I've spoken about in previous blogs. On the eve of launching Pilgrims of the Pool I have two titles in five promos this month, two priced and three using Instafreebie where the reader subscribes to the author's newsletter in exchange for a title to 'test'.

Here's a couple to check out the list of sub-genres. Enjoy!

80+ titles http://www.fantasyandmagicbooks.com/instafreebie/


100+ titles http://sffbookbonanza.com/free-books-jul-2017/