“Murder. Theatre. Solitaire.” Paperback Edition
Today, the first proof of the paper version of Murder. Theatre. Solitaire. came in the mail.
Right now, I’m an e-publisher. Those are the skills I am starting to become comfortable with. To publish hard copies at the highest level, (that is, with the most authorial control) requires skills that at present I don’t have. So the proof that arrived today does not have the cool cover I designed for the ebook version.
Yes, such things can be converted into paper covers, but no i didn’t have the time to master that for this project. The paper copies are not so much an afterthought, but certainly a secondary approach to getting the novel out there. But with several people expressing an interest in a paper copy, (not all of my supporters have ereaders), and given that I wanted to make another push on the novel for Halloween, I opted to go with a stock cover, provided by CreateSpace.
I know many of you more sophisticated (and better funded) indie publishers out there might see this as a step backwards. A betrayal to my brand, or the lazy way out. But for me, the very essence of writing a book, and working to publish it in any form is to produce a clean, easy to read product so as to get my story out there to entertain people. If I can do that more readily at present by making available respectable copies with a generic (but attractive) cover, that’s what I am going to do.
The day will come, I suspect, when I will knowmore of the machinery of paper publishing. Indeed, studies indicate that paper is catching back up to ebooks in terms of sales, and none of us may have a choice in the matter. But for today, I’ll check out this proof, make sure there is nothing ridiculously off about the printing, and approve it for sale. (Or make the needed corrections, though I don’t foresee many, as I used the same base file as I used for the ebook.)
I’ve gone at my own pace with every other aspects of this “authorprenuer” thing, and don’t see that changing any time soon.
In a week or two, you also can purchase a paper copy of Murder. Theatre. Solitaire. And I hope you do, of course.
- Posted in: Miscellany
Ty Unglebower 