Tag Archives: Stephanie Bibb

June 6, 2012 · 4:23 pm

Interview with Rebekkah Ford – Author of “Beyond the Eyes”

SBibb - Beyond the Eyes Book Cover

So, this is the completed cover for Rebekkah Ford, my first willing client I did cover art for. She’s just released her book, Beyond the Eyes, online, and to celebrate, I offered to do an interview with her about her new book. I’d like to thank her for being willing to have the time and patience with me as I got a start in cover design, as well as let the world know about her release. 🙂

And now, an interview with Rebekkah Ford:

What was your inspiration for Beyond the Eyes?

The idea for, Beyond the Eyes came to me when my husband had suggested I should write something that would totally freak me out. Well, the movie, The Exorcist, has always scared me. In fact, I’ve had bad dreams for years over that movie. So that’s where my inspiration for this book came from: writing something that could be plausible and creepy.

What was your favorite part about writing Beyond the Eyes?

The characters surprising me and showing up out of nowhere.

Did you run into any hiccups while writing Beyond the Eyes?

Yeah, I did. Writing the first sentence and the beginning of the first chapter was difficult. I struggled with that for a while.

What made you decide to self-publish?

I was burnt out on querying agents, getting wonderful comments and encouragements from them, yet their client list was full, or my story didn’t fit the type of stories they represented. I did have some agents interested, however, it didn’t work out or feel right to me. I then did a lot of research on self-publishing and was pleasantly surprised with all the information I discovered about it. One day, at the beginning of January of this year, my husband looked at me and said, “Just do it and quit screwing around. Your book needs to get out there.” And in that moment, I decided to give into that constant gnawing in the back of my head that’s been going on for months, telling me to self-publish, and I decided right then to do it. Not to mention, I have a fire in me that believes strongly in this series.

Who’s your favorite character and why?

Hmmmm, that’s a hard question . . . I think Nathan is. In my second book to this series, Dark Spirits, starting at chapter fourteen, the book goes into Nathan’s POV, every other chapter. It’s pretty cool, actually. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it totally did. Nathan is my favorite character because he doesn’t mess around. If he says he’s going to open the gates of hell upon you, watch out because he will. I also like that he has a soft side to him.

What’s your favorite thing about Beyond the Eyes?

Paige and Nathan’s relationship.

When should we expect to see Beyond the Eyes available and where?

The Kindle and ebook is available now at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Smashwords. My paperback should be available by the middle of this month.

Want to share a small snippet of your story to give the audience a taste?

Sure. This scene is towards the end of chapter one. Paige is at a dance club called The Lion’s Den, and her best friend Carrie is pulling her onto the dance floor where their friend Matt is already dancing:

            “As we made our way through the crowd of moving bodies, my ears started to ring again. Okay, this was seriously getting on my last nerve, but then I reminded myself I was here to have fun and began swaying my hips when we reached Matt. My body automatically moved inside a bubble of energetic sound waves–free and unencumbered. I was no longer the freak, with a mother who showed up when she wanted to and a father who had died when I was four. None of that stuff mattered, because in that moment I was one with the music and the pulsing lights. And as each song changed into pure techno melodies, I became more entranced, closing my eyes, swaying my body to the beat of the music, entering my own world.

            Then something strange happened. The people around me were now far below me, and I was tethered to a silver cord attached to my dancing body. I wasn’t scared though, and found myself enjoying this sense of release. I had no worries. Even when I thought about the premonition, the fear I’d felt toward it earlier didn’t touch me. Probably since I knew I wasn’t dead. I mean, hey, the silver cord remained attached to my body, so I was good, right?

            As I took in my surroundings, a guy wearing a long black coat caught my attention. He was on the high platform overlooking the floor with his hands gripping the black railing. His hood concealed his face, but he appeared to be watching the people down below.

            My eyes swept over the crowd and rested on Matt standing there staring intently on my swaying body. He took a step closer and leaned forward.

            Was he sniffing me?

            He looked up, searching for something.

            At that exact moment, the hooded guy jumped off the platform, over the black railing, and ran to the dance floor. And then Matt’s eyes locked onto mine. They were pale and glowing.

             I shuddered.

            The silvery cord rippled, and then yanked me toward my body, as if I was a balloon being pulled down by an eager child’s grasp. Everything rushed before me: the tables, the crowd of moving heads, and my own head, moving in a figure eight along with my body. I closed my eyes, and collided into a hard, confining surface, and that was the last thing I could remember.”

Beyond the Eyes Blurb:

“A thrilling, wholly satisfying first book to a new young adult series. It will keep you wanting more.” –Valentina Cano, Carabosse’s Library

“Beyond the Eyes is haunting yet passionate. This breakout novel is quick and hip, a saucy must-read.”–Charles Land, Judas Pistol

Paige knows evil exists in this world, but she never imagined it would want something from her.

After a ghostly voice whispers a haunting message to seventeen-year-old Paige Reed, Paige’s life takes a nightmarish turn. Unwilling to tell her friends about the supernatural occurrences happening in her life, Paige feels more alone than ever–until she meets Nathan Caswell.

Nathan is not only hot, but seems to peer into Paige’s soul, evoking a magnetic energy between them that cannot be denied. But he’s no ordinary guy. He tracks dark spirits, and becomes alarmed when they set their sights on Paige.

And then there are the two power-hungry dark spirits who believe Paige can find King Solomon’s magical ring for them, because when her father was alive, he was close to finding it. If Paige doesn’t comply with their demands, they’ll kill her.

Paige is forced to dig deep into her father’s past and unearths shocking secrets about him and his bloodline. With the past and present colliding, Paige is only sure about two things in her life: she needs to outwit the dark spirits to stay alive, and she’s completely and helplessly in love with Nathan.”

***

Rebekkah Ford grew up in a family that dealt with the paranormal. Her parents’ Charles and Geri Wilhelm were the Directors of the UFO Investigators League in Fairfield, Ohio, back in the 1970s. They also investigated ghost hauntings and Bigfoot sightings in addition to UFO’s. Growing up in this type of environment and having the passion for writing is what drove Rebekkah at an early age to write stories dealing with the paranormal. At one point in her life, she thought she wanted to be a journalist, and although she enjoyed writing articles, she quickly discovered her real passion was writing fiction. Her fascination with the paranormal is what led her to write the ‘Beyond the Eyes’ series. Visit her online and read her blog at http://themusingwriter.blogspot.com

***

And there it is! Hope you enjoy, and don’t forget to take a look at her new book. 😀

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168857

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-the-Eyes-ebook/dp/B0088JF7HQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1338957308&sr=8-7

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rebekkah-rebekkah-ford/1111386817?ean=2940014746496

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May 27, 2012 · 6:41 am

“The Importance of Cover Design and Genre” – I got to be a guest blogger

I’m a day late in posting this, but I thought some of you might be interested. Yesterday Nichole Severn (Also Natascha Jaffa, from my most recent post) hosted a guest blog from me. It’s titled “The Importance of Cover Design and Genre.” If you’re at all considering designing your own cover or looking into hiring someone to design your cover, it might be helpful. At least, I hope it is. 🙂

So take a peak: http://www.nicholesevern.blogspot.com/2012/05/importance-of-cover-design-and-genre.html

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May 24, 2012 · 4:23 am

“Research That Makes Good Fiction” – Guest Blog – Natascha N. Jaffa

We have a guest blogger with us today, Natascha N. Jaffa. Hopefully you’ll find her advice helpful, whether you’re considering trade publishing or self-publishing. 🙂

     

Natascha Jaffa dedicates her experience to helping writers grow through her editing firm, http://www.spjediting.com/, which she considers the best job in the world. When she isn’t editing, you can catch her snowboarding, rock climbing, or training for her first Ragnar Relay. She’s an active PRO member of Romance Writers of America, an editor for SoCal’s Mystery Writers of America chapter and is published in suspense and romance as Nichole Severn. Writers can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SPJ-Editing/271063536289907

https://twitter.com/#!/SPJEditing

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/natascha-jaffa/50/258/98b

***

“Research That Makes Good Fiction”

Natascha N. Jaffa

No matter what genre you write, accurate research pulls your readers into your story. Plotting, formatting, world-building and character research are just four items on a list of many that make your reader unable to put that book down.

Plotting research. A lot of writers write by the “seat of their pants” and that works for them. Others plan every detail of their work, following a close outline, but, no matter how you plot (or don’t), there is a basic guide to follow in fiction.

This includes A) introducing your reader to your character’s ordinary world, B) diving into adventure, C) accumulation of bad things happening, D) answering the call to adventure, E) gathering friends and allies, F) the point of no return G) things falling apart H) your crisis or “black moment”, I) resolution, and J) your happy ever after.

In all actuality, your plot should look something like this: 

 

Larry Brooks has an excellent book you may want to check out called Story Structure Demystified or you may want to look into Martha Alderson’s The Plot Whisperer for more info. Her site http://www.blockbusterplots.com/index.html has actual video of her lessons if you don’t want to read!

Formatting research. It’s a simple idea, but there is a lot of information to sift through in regards to what should be included in the header of your MS, where page numbers should start, the actual font of your MS, and what the title page should look like and include. Authors use their own formatting in a lot of cases, but that’s because they’re allowed to. They’ve become accustomed to what their editor is expecting. Therefore, we must research. Find a copy of Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript by Chuck Sambuchino. It will answer those questions whether you’re submitting a short story, a full novel, or an article to an agent or editor. Remember, the more professional your MS looks, the more professional you look.

World-building research. I’ve read so many manuscripts, especially paranormal, in which the writer doesn’t take the time to actually build the world they’ve created in their book. Readers want to know an era’s/world’s clothing, language, mannerisms, government, architecture, atmosphere, customs/traditions, and culture. Nailing down the details is what keeps your reader engrossed in the story and believing they are right there with your character.

Regency is a huge in the market right now and it requires a lot of research. This means reading history books, watching films in which the era is correctly portrayed, finding other novels in the same time period as your book and learning new words. Unless you’ve done your research, readers will see exactly how much time you took to get it right.

A word of warning: world-building research can become addicting. Never research more than you need to write about or you’ll never finish the book!

Character research. Characters make the book. This is the reason readers will pick up yours, so make them believe your characters are real. This includes setting your character’s goal, motivation, and conflict and not just for your protagonist and antagonist. Every character has an agenda. This is what drives your plot. Tell the reader what, why and why not. A great resource I recommend for every fiction writer is Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation and Conflict. Her tips will make your character multi-layered and believable.

You also need to paint a picture of your characters for your readers. A lot of writers actually find a photo that best suits their purposes and refer to it often to keep their descriptions clear throughout the book.

You as the writer need to know your character inside and out. Their job, their likes, dislikes, relationships with family and friends, favorite foods and everything else you can think of. Some are a little easier than others to construct, but either way, it must be done. Maybe you have a protagonist who is a cop. The best way to learn about your character and step into their shoes is to interview a cop. Find out how that officer spends his day, how many years of training he had to go through before he was allowed on the force, what tests he had to take. When it comes to the simpler things, Leigh Michaels has a great list of questions to ask your character in her book On Writing Romance.

 

There is a similar warning here as with world-building research. Don’t get too into your interviews or studying. Learn just enough that you can confidently portray your characters to your readers and not have to stress about inaccurate details.

Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, Carolyn Jewel’s historical romances and even Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series are all great examples of well-researched fiction. These authors have taken the time to get the details right in their plotting, formatting, world-building and character development, drawing readers into the story and not pushing them out by focusing on incorrect information.

***

Well, there you have it! That’s all for today, but hopefully you found something useful. Thanks, Natasha, for joining in. 🙂

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May 22, 2012 · 6:27 am

Self-Publishing and Marketing: Guest Interview – Matthew Selznick

Today I have a special treat: the first blog interview. 🙂

When it comes to self-publishing, we’ve all heard about the importance of editing and beta readers, and how good cover art is important to catching potential readers’ eyes. However, one thing I have not heard a lot about is the actual marketing of your book. Of course, word-of-mouth is an important starting point, and word-of-mouth is what will keep sales flowing long after your book has been available to the public.

However, some of us need a little extra push to get that book out on the shelves in the first place. You can have the most awesome book in the world, but if no one knows it exists, how will it be read?

That’s why some authors hire marketing and public relation consultants. Each one has a variety of services, and what the author needs will depend on their book and how well they can market it themselves.

Since this isn’t a topic I’m particularly familiar with, I decided to ask around and see if anyone who offers their services would mind answering a few questions.

For this interview I’ll be talking with Matthew Wayne Selznick, a creator working with words, music, pictures and people. Through MWS Media, he helps other creators bring their endeavors to fruition. He lives in Long Beach, California and is available at: http://www.mattselznick.com.

Read his resume here: http://www.mattselznick.com/about-matthew-wayne-selznick/matthew-wayne-selznick-resume/

          

Matthew: I provide marketing consultation, and I’ve occasionally done public relations work. I have experience as an author (self-published and traditionally published), a former bookseller, and an interactive marketing producer.

How should an author go about marketing their book?

By going where your audience is, being an engaged member of the community, and building relationships with people who become fans, supporters and evangelists. By seeking out new fans by looking for opportunities and areas of overlap. By establishing yourself as a writer worth reading, which means both writing a good book and presenting yourself well.

You mentioned being an engaged member of the community, and building a fan base. How do you go about doing that?

No matter the genre or niche (for non-fiction), there are people talking about it on the Internet and, very possibly, in your local community. Since you’re focused on YA fantasy / science fiction, there are probably hundreds of like-minded forums, Facebook groups, Yahoo! groups, fan websites, and even real-life meetup groups available to you.  Use Google to find them… join them… and be an active member there.  It’s all about building relationships and establishing connections *before* you even mention that you’re an author, or that you have a book for sale.  Build relationships and become known… people who “know” you will be much more willing to support your book when it’s time to unleash it on the world.

The same thing goes with Twitter — follow people in your genre, and watch their tweets and conversations. For example, if you’re writing young adult fantasy, you could do worse than follow Neil Gaiman. Follow their conversations, and follow their followers — engage with them when appropriate.  Contribute useful information when you can.

What do you expect of the author your working with?

To be available, to be open, and to be willing to be the brand. Authors who are not prepared to be marketers of their own work are at a tremendous disadvantage. Nothing sells a book like an engaging, involved and passionate author.

You’ve mentioned branding, and being a passionate author. Do you have suggestions regarding branding? How do you go about determining an author’s brand?

The author’s personal brand is built by the author through their public voice — which should be their *real* voice.  Brand isn’t something that’s determined… it’s something that is developed.

For example, Wil Wheaton’s “brand” could be “super-smart, really nice author, actor and gamer who feels like every geek’s older brother.” That’s not something he deliberately created… that’s who he *is.*

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/

What do you charge?

It depends greatly on the project, the niche, and the author’s willingness to get their hands dirty. It also depends on whether I’m engaged on a project-based level, or as an hourly consultant. My base rate is $50.00 / hour, but project-level work usually results in a lower “hourly” rate overall.

How do you go about determining project level prices? You’ve mentioned the $50.00 base rate hourly. What all does that entail? How long do you typically spend with an author on this sort of project?

My primary role is mentor, trainer and advisor. Since the best spokesperson for an author is the author, I encourage them to manage their own Twitter stream, their own Facebook page, and so on.  It’s my job to make sure they’re handling their social media in the most ethical and most effective means possible.  I will also research opportunities like guest blog posts, online magazine articles, anthologies (a short story in an anthology is a way to promote an upcoming book!) and reviewers.

Because the tasks and level of involvement vary with each author client, this kind of work is usually billed on an hourly basis, although I do occasionally work under a retainer.  Project-based tasks would be creating a website, doing a book cover, editing, e-book conversion, and other services.

When do you suggest that an author begin looking into a hiring a marketing consultant, if they plan on doing so?

It’s good to get some advice tailored to your specific book early on… and by “early on,” I mean once you’ve completed your first draft.  The time to begin building a personal brand and an author platform is well before your book is to be released.  You want to have an audience to promote to on release day!

For authors who would like to get their feet wet planning their marking and social media, I recently added virtual and, when
practical, in-person consultation services. There’s more information at http://bit.ly/mwsmedia-consultation.  Folks who “Like” my MWS Media Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mws.media.us can also use a coupon code for 50% off their first appointment, so that might be an inexpensive way to be introduced to these concepts as they apply to a new writer’s specific situation.

***

So there you have it! I’d like to thank Matthew Selznick for being our first interviewed guest, and I appreciate his taking the time to answer a few questions. Hopefully this has been helpful for you readers. 🙂

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May 11, 2012 · 6:50 am

Premade Cover Art – Now Available!

Great news! I’ve just started offering premade covers on my facebook page. 😀 Prices will vary, depending on the difficulty level of the cover. Please keep in mind that the font, color of font, and placement can be changed depending on your book. Also, minor adjustments can be made with regard to overall color cast of the image, blurring, etc. Feel free to ask if your interested in one of these covers. 🙂

SBibb's Photographic Illustration - Premade Cover 8

Recognize it? (From banner above) This is one of the covers available to be purchased, and happens to be a wrap-around cover. (Can also be done as a front cover). Great for fantasy or sci-fi, and especially young adult. 🙂

Premades: http://www.facebook.com/sbibbphoto
Custom Designed Covers: https://sbibb.wordpress.com/book-cover-design-services/
Main Website: http://www.sbibbphoto.com

So, if there’s anything you’re looking to see, just ask. I’m going to continue uploading more covers over time, and hopefully get some new ones created soon. 🙂

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May 8, 2012 · 6:13 am

Graduation – Where To Go From Here

Wow, it’s been a busy week. One of the (many) reasons for this is graduation. That’s right, I can now say I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography, with a minor in creative writing. What does that mean? Makes it easier for me write my credentials on website. And I  now have an actual album portfolio (a metal cover with leather binding and metallic pages, if you’re curious to know the details). I also have my Honor’s College Project, the “1000 Words” book.

But the real reason I wanted to bring this up was because of a few important things that I took from college. One thing is the importance of passing on knowledge. In an ideal world, education would be free, and passed on without having to pay for it. One great thing about the internet. It’s also a reason that I’m trying to keep my blog updated. I’m trying to focus on the self-publishing business and book cover design, as well as photo illustration. And I’m trying to post something useful when I do, so that there’s at least some tidbit of helpful information to pass on.

Which is why, if you have a question, feel free to ask. I may not know the answer, but if I do, or if I have ideas, I’ll try to help out. It’s why I’ve posted a list of blogs on the side of this blog that may proove useful to you. Yes, I’m trying to promote my business, but I also do want to be helpful.

Anyways, for my little note about promotion today, this is the flier I made to promote “1000 Words.” I don’t really expect it to bring much notice, but then, I didn’t write “1000 Words” to be a popular book. It started out as a portfolio to showcase my book cover designs, but hopefully it’s entertaining, too. But I included the picture in the flier, for recognition, listed  where it could be found and the prices, and said a little bit about it, both genres and what it is. I tried to make it bold and readable. We’ll see if it gets noticed or not. 🙂

SBibb's Photographic Illustration - 1000 Words Flier

 

Up Next:

1. Try to find a “real” job (that is, something to pay rent until I get this book cover business going)

2. Edit Distant Horizon, my YA novel I’m hoping to traditionally publish

3. Write novella one of the “Socks” novellas (more on that soon)

4. Work on premade covers to offer (more on that soon)

5. See about doing interviews with various self-published author to get the other side of the publishing business.

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April 30, 2012 · 7:44 am

Blog Design Update and Self-Promotion

Updated the blog’s header so it fits my photo illustration business better. I’m worried it might be a little dark, so let me know how it appears in your browser, especially if there’s any readability issues. Anyways, any thoughts on the change?

Meanwhile, I’m working on trying to promote my business. I’m starting to contact various small publishers and presses to see if anyone could use my services, but I suspect that could take a lot more e-mails and time. Of course, I’m trying to keep my Flickr, DeviantArt, and Facebook accounts up to date, though most of it is the same as what you see on the blog.

One method of promotion I’m trying to use is making the gallery folders of my DeviantArt account serve as miniature portfolios. One actually does contain all the spreads found in my print portfolio.

Book Cover Examples: http://sbibb.deviantart.com/gallery/33403924

Portfolio: http://sbibb.deviantart.com/gallery/36792724

Meantime, I’m trying to think of other ways to help promote my work. Have any of you found success in certain types of promotion?

Yesterday I read an article on authors and the swag they use to promote thier books. If you’re at all interested in promotion or self-promotion, it’s worth a read: http://limecello.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/on-author-promo-swag/

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April 29, 2012 · 12:08 pm

Masquerade Photoshoot – Joe and Meg

These pictures are ones I did for Meg and Joe’s photoshoot, of which the theme was “masquerade.” I’d like to thank Meg for providing the dresses she wore during this photoshoot, and Cherise for providing Joe’s hat. I had the masks and created the cloak that Joe wore. (Thanks, Christina, for finding the buttons that give it the masquerade look). The cloak got sewn together about an hour and a half before the shoot, right after making a trip to the nearest antique store/thrift shop. Very handy for photoshoots. Anyways, this was a fun shoot, shot at Culp park and indoors. Unfortunately, the outdoors shoot didn’t come out as sharp, but it had some really neat images, especially since we ended up playing with a “Western meets Eastern” aspect to it. 🙂

Flickr Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbibb/sets/72157629563875308/show/

 SBibb - Masquerade Photoshoot

SBibb - Masquerade Photoshoot

SBibb - Masquerade Photoshoot

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April 27, 2012 · 11:32 am

“1000 Words” – Now Available in Paperback

Well, the good news is: It’s here. My Honors College Project is done. Turned in. Complete.

Yay. 🙂

Formally titled “1000 Words: A Collection of Short Stories,” is is now available on Amazon. I even fixed the description’s HTML so that it used line breaks. (Though it looks like I’ll have to independently set up the “search inside” feature for the paperback book).

http://www.amazon.com/1000-Words-Collection-Short-Stories/dp/1475227477/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335566292&sr=8-1

Gotta admit, the cool thing is that while I was showing a copy of the printed book to my mentor for the project, a few of the other photo students got a chance to look at it and seemed impressed. Plus, one of the staff who works there decided to buy my book, making him the first official buyer of the paperback edition. Yay! My fiance has first dibs on the ebook edition. LOL 🙂

So now, here’s the part that may or may not be helpful for those of you reading my posts. I’ve taken pictures of the printed book (The Honors College permitted me to buy ten of them, one first myself, one for my mentor, and one for each of the seven models), at different angles. It’s a 6×9 inch paperback book from CreateSpace (they do print-on-demand, or “POD” printing) at 72 pages.

I’ll say one thing. It may be small, but I’m impressed with the interior color printing. The text is crisp, and the colors from the images don’t appear to smudge. The inner covers look great. I might have been a little off on how the spine was supposed to look, but it looks like the guides were correct (once I made a PSD to work from) for the wraparound cover. The paper for the front cover feels a little thin (as opposed to the paper a book printed at Lulu used for the cover) but the quality of the image looks great.

The paper pages are a bright white, but easy to read. I would personally consider extending the gutters out a bit or changing how I typeset the text in word, because the sentence feels a bit short when I try to read a paragraph, but that’s something I personally can do better to improve.

The pages open easily but do not lay flat (I felt a bit concerned about how thin the book is, but the binding appears to be holding).

Now, on to the pictures. 🙂

Front Cover:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Back Cover:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Side View:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Side View:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Inner Pages:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Text Page:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

Cover Page:

SBibb - "1000 Words" Printed Book

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April 25, 2012 · 4:26 am

Updated Website and “1000 Words” Paperback Edition

Last night I uploaded the updated version of my website, http://www.sbibbphoto.com . Now it is split into two sections, Portrait and Event Photography, for the more traditional side of things, and Photographic Illustration and Book Cover Design for my illustrative work. Luckily it only took a couple days to really tweak and update it, but as I’m looking at it, I wonder if my blog and DeviantArt account may be better suited to showing off my work. They’re both easy to update, and you can see the pictures at a much larger size.

Which brings up the question, how large of a size do potential clients want to see images? I already know that I need to update the background for the portrait section of the website, (and tweak the splash page), but I wonder if it might be better to redo the style entirely. My fiance brought up a good point; it’d be a good idea to show both my stronger traditional portraits, as well as my illustrative ones. I know it’s going to take a while to get my book cover design business going. So even though my professors generally say, “Show what you want to sell,” perhaps it’d be a good idea to show both for the time being.

At least until the book cover design business takes off.

And if nothing else, the website works as a good hub for connecting all the different sites I frequent together.

Meanwhile, on the topic of “1000 Words,” I’ve gone into Createspace to set up pricing, and came in for a bit of a sticker shock. Keep in mind, I can order these books for myself for about $6.00. I planned on adding a couple dollars for personal royalties, thus putting it around $8.00. Still kind of pricy, but not necessarilly horrible for a full color book. But with the way the royalties are set up, the minimum I can sell it for is $9.80-something, and that’s not counting royalties on Amazon. My only guess is that it might be for shipping? If I want to make $2.00 off each book on Amazon, I’d be selling it for near $12.00.

Personally, if I was considering buying a paperback for myself, I’m not sure that’d be worth it, for any book that size.

So now I’m trying to decide if I should actually try selling it in paperback version. I suspect that once shipping costs are added in, I wouldn’t do much better trying to sell it myself (unless I was selling it by hand). I probably will upload a paperback version, so it’s there, but I’ll definitly recommend going for the ebook version, if all you want is the stories. (Now if you want your own, personal, handheld copy with all its cool formatting, by all means, go for the paperback version).

But it looks like I won’t be able to sell the paperbacks for under $10.00, like I’d originally planned. Either way, I plan to release it this Friday.

It does bring up one problem that self-publishers have trying to sell thier books, though. Being price-competitive has its complications.

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