What do you guys think? The blurb needs tweaking and probably the author bio too. Which image do you prefer? Joni is training for the Boston Marathon which I feel like the blurb needs to address, but that’s why the runner image. Feedback appreciated!
Tag: books
Run For Cover
Or Diary Of a New Writer – Faux Pas Edition! Oh well, if you can’t laugh at yourself, someone else might as well laugh at you, right?
Ah, book cover design. Remember how I said it was the fun part? I should have known some of my words would come back to haunt me. Because it’s turned into a nightmare! (Ok, that’s a little dramatic… NO, it’s not! Waah!) Book three of my series is finished. I’ve done everything I can possibly do to it. I’ve had the beta readers preview and proof read. My friend Kevin (of former publishing house fame) is back in town and I might pester him for one final look. After that it’s time to upload it. But there’s a problem…
Pay attention, everyone that read Diary of a New Writer! I discovered last week, purely by chance (and thank goodness I did), what it feels like when another writer uses the same template for their cover from the on line cover creator!
Ugh! Serves me right for being a cheap ass. And what’s worse? It was for a dining guide! *Smacks forehead* Anyway, the obvious solution is to try, try again. Enter the awesome folks at NCS Studios. It’s time to quit messing around and do this right. I have an appointment on Monday.
First, we’re going to work on a brand new cover for, Run For It, Book Three in the Bucks County novels. Then we will revisit Three Empty Frames and Seeing Red. Because, you guessed it, I used the same template for both of them! (Idiot)
Remember the trouble I was having uploading the cover to Smashwords? How I was being denied from their premium catalog? This is going to fix that, too. With a professionally designed cover, image quality won’t be an issue. This will allow the series to be pushed out to iBooks, Nook and Kobo. And that is a really cool thing for a series writer.
At least the novel is finished, all 87,000+ words of it. If you’re curious, I wrote a short story prequel to it, earlier this month. I might do one more before the book comes out. Now I have to work on my blurb and update my author biography. I might actually have some professional photos done. (With a fuzzy lens so I look like Diane Lane in 1999! Bah!)
While the pros work their magic, I’ll get back to writing. Book four is nearly finished, I’m making notes for book five. My World War One novel is brewing in the cauldron on the back burner. No wonder I’m tired…
(Images courtesy google images and IMBD)
Books, How I Love Thee…
Writers, if you are not a lover of books, you need to have your heads examined. Seriously, you cannot, CANNOT be a good writer if you do not read! I have always loved books. As an only child, I grew up reading – making fictional friends to take the place of siblings. The first books I clearly remember reading were Richard Scarry’s picture books. Then it was Ramona Quimby and her big sister Beezus! Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women….
I was a book nerd in high school, too. When other kids goofed off in free periods, I’d go bother the librarian. My high school librarian Mrs. Long, was a big, intimidating lady, but damn, she had great taste in books! She introduced me to The Hobbitt and my favorite book of all times: Dune, by Frank Herbert. This is the book that I’d want with me if I were marooned on a desert island. (Desert? Get it?)
But honestly, there are so many close seconds… I’ve read the complete Sherlock Holmes collection and not just because of the TV series, either. (Although, I could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch reading the phone book. That voice…) Other favorites include: Robinson Crusoe, The Count of Monte Cristo, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. More contemporary favorites are Tom Clancy’s: The Hunt For Red October, John Grisham’s: A Time To Kill, Khaled Hosseini’s: The Kite Runner and Sara Gruen’s: Water For Elephants.
Anthony Trollope asked, “What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book and a cup of coffee?” I couldn’t agree more! Perhaps I would add to that: a rainy or snowy day and a cozy blanket to wrap around your shoulders. To be forced by the weather to stay inside and curl up with a book? Heaven! And to have one with some heft, too, be it paper or electrons! As far as I’m concerned, a good story can go on forever! Lord of the Rings? Bring it on! Red Mars? Yes! I already gushed about Dune, right? Yeah well, there’s a trilogy!
Do you like spoilers? Can you stand waiting till the end to find out if “our hero” makes it? I have to be honest, before the advent of e-readers, I was unable to resist checking the last page of the book just to see if everyone gets out alive! It’s not like it’s impossible to check in an e-book… But I just don’t do it! Weird.
Anyway, I read many different genres and enjoy them all: mystery, thriller, romance, science fiction, espionage, historical fiction, biography… It’s been said that you can know a person by the type of books he (or she) reads. What does that say about me? Am I unknowable?!? Hmm. Perhaps just multi-faceted. Oooh yes, that sounds deep and sophisticated! *Snort*
Lately, I’ve been reading more historical fiction than anything else. I recently read Vikingr by my friend, JS Malpas and have been swept away by the moving story of a blind girl and a young German soldier in All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. So what are you currently reading? Tell me what books you love! And what’s on your to-read list? If you like, join me on Goodreads! Winter is coming, let’s all curl up with a good book!
(Header image courtesy of cardinalnewmansociety.org)
Meg Sorick, Author/Artist 