Section-Breaks, Page-Breaks, Headers, Footers, Fonts and Trim!

Yikes! Formatting a book for print presents a complex array of questions and answers combined with a set of choices and requirements that make the phrase do-it-yourself almost laughable. When I quizzed a friend about how he managed to get a print version of his book online with Amazon, he simply said he hired someone. My husband has a favorite phrase I'm adopting to make myself feel a bit better. It goes, "Never try to do part-time what someone else does full-time!"

I'm sure I could mush through all that needs to be accomplished to produce a finished, neatly bound paperback, but is that really how I need to spend my time right now? After reading a manual on what to do and how to do it to get my books into print, I've decided to forget it and instead to market, market, market and query, query, query!

My time needs to be spent writing the two companion books for the Arrowstar series I have planned for 2014. I think I might be able to throw in some marketing for the e-books while I'm writing, and even send off a few query letters to likely agents. My fondest hope is that some kindly agent will seek out a publisher who will snap up my books and handle the print processing they do so well.

Today's wisdom: Daunted, but not defeated; onward I go with "pen" in hand to once again conquer the blank page.

BOLO: A Trail Robber's Tale and The Storm Women coming in 2014!

I hope all your "troubles melt like lemon drops" on New Year's Eve!

Write on!
Cheryl

Do It Yourself E-Books

Having finished writing Charade, I'm now in the process of updating Arrowstar with the material my former e-publisher forgot to include like the dedication, acknowledgements and copyright! If you're a writer and want an e-book on Amazon Kindle, try uploading it yourself. I paid $200 to have Arrowstar uploaded for me, and the results were not what I had hoped. Now I do it myself to make sure it's done right.

There is a little booklet you can get on Amazon for free called Building Your Book for Kindle. This little gem will give you step-by-step detailed instructions on how to prepare your book for upload and also walk you through the whole process when you're ready.

My next learning challenge will be to attempt using Amazon's Create Space, so I can get some hard copies of my e-books for an author recognition at my church in February. I'll let you know how I get along and report on the time frame it takes to have copies in hand.

There are many readers out there who are not fond of reading e-books or have not yet bought an e-reader. I'm excited I might finally be able to answer the demand for "real" books for that audience. It will also be a "rush" to actually see my name on the covers of my books and place them on my bookshelf.

Today's Wish: May the love and magic of Christmas stay around all year!

Write on!
Cheryl

Charade Ready to Read on Your Kindle!

The easiest way to find Charade for Kindle is to search on Amazon.com using this phrase: Cheryl Thomas Kindle. When you search this way, you will see all three of my books pop up at the top of the search page. As of today, Charade has not been added to my author page on Amazon, but the request has been made, so it should show up there shortly. (I hope!)

Yesterday I continued slugging away editing and coding Charade after working on implementing copy editing and content changes suggested by my trustworthy editors for the past couple of weeks. Finally around four o'clock, I pushed the save and publish button on Friday the 13th!

When I woke up this morning, I picked up my Kindle first thing and searched for Charade. It popped right up, and I bought a copy for Frank's Kindle Fire. I've discovered that the book is formatted the best on the "Fire." The cover looks sufficiently spooky in black and white, and be sure to check out the acknowledgements because your name might appear there! Of course, I've probably missed some people I should have remembered, but if I did, just give a "holler."

I'm feeling very good about this story, and I hope you enjoy it as much as my editors said they did while working with it. Maybe after completing three novels, I'm hitting my stride. I'd love your feedback, so please email me at ckthomas@cox.net or comment on Facebook, Twitter, or the Blog. If you would write a review on Amazon as well that would mean a lot to me.

The characters from Arrowstar have become like friends to me, and the town of Mineral City seems real as well. I'm loving spending so much time inside this little "kingdom" I've created.

The editing process proved to be just as much fun as I'd predicted. Adding a few paragraphs here and there certainly was more fun and easier than thinking up what to write next.

It amazes me how many of the elements of the book came together in ways I hadn't anticipated while I was writing. Some things in the beginning of the book turned out to dovetail nicely with others that popped up later as if by magic. During the editing process, I was able to expand on these connections and make them integral parts of the story.

The unconscious mind is a magnificent machine humming along behind the scenes and giving cues to the conscious writing process. I'm convinced of this phenomenon because I can see the results as I read the finished manuscript. It's like putting together a puzzle, getting finished, and sitting back to enjoy seeing the complete picture. It never fails to surprise and delight me.

Today's Thought: Magic happens if you just believe it will.

Write on!
Cheryl

Tightrope to Launch

I've delivered Charade into the capable hands of three very reliable friends: a content editor, a grammar genius, and a typical reader of novels. Hopefully, when I have implemented their suggestions along with the other steps I mention below, it will be in time to launch 
Charade before the end of December.

Right now I'm putting together the dedication, copyright, and disclaimer pages. After an edit of content and grammar based on the feedback from the famous three mentioned above, I'll begin coding the novel for upload to Amazon for Kindle e-readers. It's been a whole year since I uploaded Honor Bound in Kindle format, so I'll need to brush up on that process before I begin.

Then, of course, there's the matter of an appropriate cover for the book. I begin with photos my husband and I have taken. I've chosen one that works well, but I still need to decide on a funky font for the title and author text. Already brewing are two artsy versions of the cover I've slapped on the manuscripts for the "typical reader" and the "grammar genius." The content editor received a quickie digital version sans art.

Once I've created a cover that satisfies me, I'll need to be sure I size it properly for display on the Kindle. Getting all the pieces I've mentioned together isn't something I relish, but I need to wade into it while the manuscript remains in other hands. When I begin the upload process, I'll need to have all the pieces where I can grab them during the step-by-step process required by Amazon.

Marketing comes next, and it's not something I've totally figured out yet. I've made business cards, a website, and this blog as a foray into marketing. However, there are many avenues I've yet to investigate when it comes to promoting what I've written. Even though I've only got my little toe in the marketing and promotions bathtub, I'm hopeful that one day I'll be able to splash around with abandon.

You can easily see that there's more to this novel-writing gig than "writing." Personally, "I'd rather be writing." Maybe I should get a bumper sticker.

I'm excited about writing the companion book to Charade. If I had an agent I'm assuming I could farm out all this other "monkey business" and have the luxury of digging into my next project right away.

Tidbit: Launching a novel is like walking a tightrope.

Reaching for balance,
Cheryl

Gather the Ingredients, Stir the Pot and Give Thanks for the Proof in the Pudding

Not yet satisfied with the last few chapters (20-24) of Charade, I'm going to give them one more read and rewrite tomorrow before setting the novel aside to "cure."

When I was a kid, my extended family liked to get together in Sharpsville, Indiana at my grandparents' home to make homemade ice cream. After rounding up the crushed ice, the salt, and the ice cream maker in addition to cooking the ingredients just so, the time eventually came to pour the concoction into the metal cylinder, dip in the paddles and begin to turn the crank.

Everyone took turns at the crank in the beginning, but when the paddles began to resist, elbow grease and brawn took over. Of course, someone had to stand on the wooden bucket full of ice and salt above the silver canister spinning round and round and full to the brim of almost frozen ice cream to keep it steady while the crank groaned as it turned. Sometimes the ice cream expanded so much it oozed out through the top and leaked into the ice and salt.  

When the crank could be turned no more, then the whole shebang: the big wooden bucket full of rapidly melting ice, the silver canister full of ice cream, crank and all got wrapped in blankets until after supper. Anticipation of the creamy results of all that labor hung in the air all during supper while the ice cream cured.

Not until the dishes were done and put away did the adults finally make their leisurely way out back to unwrap the prize, lift the canister from the icy bucket, wipe the salt and water off, and oh so carefully lift the lid. The paddles were pulled and licked by a lucky bystander while the scooping and serving began. The secret's in the "cure" the old folks claimed, and I'm sure they were right.

As Charade "cures," I wait to see if the taste will reflect the effort, and if the anticipation of reading it with new eyes will make all the difference. The ingredients I used were fresh, and I certainly cranked and cranked and cranked until I couldn't crank anymore. Hopefully, when I get to lick the paddle,  I'll be able to tell if my readers will be lining up asking for yet another scoop of Arrowstar and Company.

Wishing you savory turkey, sweet marshmallow covered yams, lots of pies with ice cream and plenty of reasons to be thankful on Thursday. God bless Abraham Lincoln for making "giving thanks" a national holiday. Amen!

Thanking my lucky stars for all of you,
Cheryl 

Mad Dash to Victory

I'm currently reading a 784-page novel, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I'm fascinated by her compelling descriptions and characterizations. Her ability to engage her readers with prose so full of meaning it's impossible to skip even a word of it, makes me wonder how I can possibly hope to reach that level of skill as a writer. I'm in awe of her talent and completely baffled at how she manages to spill out so many pages without writing one boring or unnecessary sentence.

In editor mode now, I'm pushing toward finishing Charade with a word count goal set somewhere around 70,000. I've got 6,000 more words to write to reach that ballpark number, and I want to make the prose that results worth the reader's time and compelling enough to give depth of character and place without adding unnecessary and therefore boring filler. Ugh! I hate even admitting to thinking about adding such fatty, spare-tire prose to round out the skinny creature I've got running toward the finish. How do I make this anemic second draft into a robust, six-pack-sporting Adonis?

Yes, I'm still plagued by uncertainty and hesitation when it comes to laying bare my artistic passions on the pages of a novel for discerning readers to peruse. Maybe I can console myself with the old adage that says if you're not nervous before you go on stage, then your performance won't be worth a fart. Or something along those lines. I think I made up the part about the fart.

I haven't formulated satisfying answers to my questioning as yet, but maybe the key lies in just slogging ahead with as much skill as I currently possess and hoping for the best. At least I recognize the pitfalls of adding words just to fill space. Maybe, at this point in my writing career, I have developed some degree of mastery in my craft that will allow me to reach for some small degree of what I've seen possible by reading Tartt.

Today's tidbit: Practice, practice, practice whatever your craft may be until the  melody you're making fits perfectly the lyrics of your song.

Thanks for humming along while I run like mad to the finish,
Cheryl

Charade's Skeleton Gets Connected!

Natalie Goldberg wrote a self-help book for writers called Writing Down the Bones. I have it on my bookshelf and have read it numerous times for inspiration and practical pointers.

It occurred to me that "writing down the bones" is a great metaphor for getting the first draft of a novel down on paper. Yesterday I wrote all the way to the end of Charade, completing over 60,000 words. With 10,000 words, give or take, left to write I'll start back at Chapter 1 polishing and rewriting what I've already written.

During the editing process I'll find connections I failed to notice during the skeletal phase of the writing. I'll be able to link these connections in more obvious ways so the reader catches them too. For instance, I might find a reference to Valentines Day in Chapter One and notice a connection in say, Chapter 10. I'll make this subtle link more obvious, so the reader might have an ah-ha moment remembering the earlier reference.

In my writing, not all these links are intended during the creative process. Much of the time they're accidental references that, when made more robust, give the reader a nice little jolt of remembrance and insight into the larger plot. It's the place in a novel when you might say, "I wondered why Star said that in the first chapter. Okay, now I get it. That's clever."

What a rush to read through the entire first draft of the novel! Creating the flow of the plot, being aware of the story arc and finding the right words challenges any writer and involves a large amount of hard work. Editing, on the other hand, becomes a wild and crazy scavenger hunt for missing descriptions, opportunities to improve the build up to a crisis and work with weak characterizations. It's exciting stuff and much more fun than staring at a blank page and fearing no words will emerge to fill it.

Yesterday when I noticed I'd reached the magical 60,000 words at just the right place and time for the characters, I jumped up, ran out to the garage, where my husband stood with greasy hands shoved inside the guts of an antique motorcycle he's restoring for one of his clients, and did a little happy dance to mark the successfully constructed "skeleton." I love those moments when I reach a personally-designed hallmark in my work and feel like celebrating. That's the real joy of the creative process.

Now, it's time to put flesh, running shorts and track shoes on the bones and sprint toward the finish line. It's good to have you as an audience along the way cheering, yelling, and offering Gatorade. I treasure your loyal support!

Today's Tidbit: "I am a rock, I am an island." NOT!

Celebrate whenever, wherever you get the chance,
Cheryl