Writing Wednesday: Preparing My Book File

You know, some days just get away from me. Do you feel like that? Where did Wednesday go? Here I am posting on Thursday – sorry if you wondered where I was.

I mentioned last week that I’m clearing the clutter so I can see the wood for the trees. I’ve also been preparing my book file for my new book Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John. I finished editing it, and, using a copy of my other book file, pasted it into the right format. It was then I discovered it was eight pages longer than the first book.

I spoke to my printer, who gave me a quote. Too much. I want to charge the same price, since this is a companion to my first book, Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth. So if the printing costs are higher, I have to absorb them and cut my income. I think printing costs have gone up since last year anyway, so there’s only so much I can absorb.

Alina is £4.99 and that price is important. Because it’s particularly aimed at tourists, at under £5 it’s an impulse buy. Any more, and they stop and think about if they can afford it or are willing to spend that much. But at ‘only’ £4.99 they are more likely to spend the money.

So, eight pages too many. And the pages are printed four at a time, so I have to lose four or eight. I went back to editing, and managed to save four pages. Then I realised that I didn’t need a front title sheet like they have in most books, because it’s only a slim volume. Suddenly, I have saved six pages! But six pages is two too many or two too few.

Then I remembered the advice to advertise the first book in the second. So Broken Reed now has the introduction from Alina in the back! And I amended my Contact the Author page in the front to mention it as well.

With a few other tweaks, my book file is ready. All I need now is the illustrations and the cover, and it can go to the printer. I even put the new ISBN in, since you have to buy them in blocks of ten, so I have a few to use up as I write other books. I still have to prepare the ebook file, but that’s much more straight-forward.

Now you see why I don’t know what day it is!

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About Ann Marie Thomas

Married since 1974, Christian since 1986, 4 children, 4 grand children, disabled with fibromyalgia but was working almost full time until a stroke in May 2010 changed my life completely. Writing poetry and making up stories since I was a child, I only started to write seriously when my children were grown. My main ambition is to write science fiction, but along the way I got distracted by local history and poetry about my stroke. Taking early retirement gave me the chance to concentrate on my writing. My book, Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth, was published in print and ebook at Easter 2012. The success of Alina led to the publication of Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John in September 2013, and The Magna Carta Story at Easter 2015. I am still writing science fiction - a series of novels called Flight of the Kestrel. For all my author news, see me author blog at www.annmariethomas.me.uk
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