Progress Report #12 – New Books, Michigan and Paris

Yesterday, the giver of all things fun (the UPS man) arrived with the first box, of what I hope are many, of the trade paperback version of Containers 4 Death. We went with just fifty for the first printing to start the marketing and getting it posted on Amazon. We have had the ebook version on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for almost two months. Even though I can never make money on the paperback after printing, shipping them (at least 3 times to get to the buyer), and the split with Amazon et al, having a real book in your hands beats trying to hug an ebook.

ADVERT: Please buy this book:

Containers 4 Death

Back of Containers 4 Death

 Interior Shot

If you are a loyal follower you know the trials I went through to get this book right. Redesign of front and back covers, rework of the text format, and concern over paper color; the proof now stands in a pile, Sharon waits for you!

I am continuing to edit Elk River (see previous blog), I had some excellent feedback from an editor/reader (a volunteer) and he offered a simple crit, the dialog needs cleaning up and sharpening, “It reads well, but let it flow, make it more human, this is not the literary society of Boston, these are good and simple folk from Chicago and Michigan.”

It is interesting to focus just on the spoken words of the story, scroll past the narrative and just look at the quoted lines, is the story being told? Are the voices evolving from within the ten main characters? Can you tell who is talking just by the speech pattern?

Without a doubt, editing is more critical to the story than the story itself (sometimes). Poorly edited work steals from the story; but there is a difference between proofreading and editing – a big difference.

Still working on cover art for Elk River, hopefully I will be able to post three or four versions for your comment within the month.

The next Sharon O’Mara Chronicle is waiting for the return of Sharon and Bryan from Paris; I understand they are having a great time. She is complaining that the sauces are far too agreeable. But lots of walking and occasional bursts of panic are helping her to keep her girlish figure.

More later . . .