It’s always exciting to receive the advance copies of a book I’ve written. To hold the book in my hands, admire the cover, and flip through the pages gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction. I felt this fulfillment for a third time when I received the first proof of Cast for Murder.
I made every decision on this book. From the choice of editor and cover designer to the font and font size of the text, and the size of the margins and line spacing. Every element was determined by me. Sometimes the choice was agonizing. How will the Garamond font look? Is 11 pt. too small or 14 pt too large? What trim size should I choose: 5-1/4″ x 8″ or 5-1/2″ x 8″? What difference does a quarter inch make? Even the type of paper used has an effect. I chose cream over white. I like the look and feel of the paper and research indicates print on cream paper is easier on readers’ eyes. The cover’s designer, Keri Knutson, also had to know my paper choice because the cream paper offered by CreateSpace is thicker than their white paper. That specification (along with the book’s total page count) was important for Keri to accurately size the spine for her cover proof.
I also learned much while formatting the manuscript for the advance e-book version of Cast for Murder I’m sending to reviewers. Where font and font size are important with the paperback, they don’t matter with the electronic version. Readers can change them to suit their preference. Another surprise with the e-book is that blank lines are deleted when converted to the ePub format. I went through the entire manuscript-280 pages-and deleted the blank lines I had between chapter headings and text and between the scene changes within the chapters and inserted blank spaces via the Paragraph-Spacing-Before and After option in Word. Whew!
It continues to amaze me how different the story looks in its final form. I know, of course it does. A physical book isn’t a computer screen or an 8-1/2″ x 11” sheet of white paper. But the story comes alive when I read it in the paperback (or hardcover) format. One downside to the new view: every word stands out, causing me to question many of my vocabulary choices and phrasing. And yes, the typos I had missed earlier become obvious, too!
This brings me to one of the advantages of self-publishing: I will be able to make changes to the text if, let’s say next August someone informs me of a misspelled word, missing comma, or, worst case scenario, plot discrepancy. All I will have to do is update the manuscript and download it to CreateSpace, Kindle Direct Publishing, and Draft2Digital. Once it’s passed a quick review, the revised book will move through the sales channels and become the version available for readers to purchase.
Reaching the proof stage means Cast for Murder is one step closer to publication as we enter the holiday season. Are you all ready for Halloween? Pumpkin carved, costume ready, candy in the bowl? Enjoy the fun!
Have a great week!
Jeanne Quigley - All Things Cozy 