Announcements

Book Update 2/15/2010

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And now the latest updates of the Fan-To-Pro Book:

Status:

  • I am now done with the cover.  After having many approaches and suggestions and offers, I've finally settled on a simper, abstract, slightly retro design that has a 50's/60's feel.
  • I have done the back cover except for selecting an author photo, which I haven't done as I kinda need to take one . . .

What I've learned:

  • Covers are an incredible pain.  Seriously.  I actually am going with the final design I have because it's "good enough" and is less trouble than many other options.
  • Take a look at other covers to figure out how to make your own.
  • Typesetting was honestly easier than the cover work.
  • The back cover of a book takes some serious thought to make it sound good.  Also, make sure you have a good picture of yourself to go on one.
  • Lulu.com's cover designing system is decent, but unless you invest time in making good covers from scratch, or manipulate their cover system to best fuse templates and your own work, your work will look very basic.  On the plus side Lulu's basic setups are pretty nice and easy to use, there's just not a lot of variability without your own work.
  • You better have some decent graphic program and the skills to get even the simpler covers together – or have someone to call on.
  • What looks cool in a bookstore can look awful online.
  • The learning curve for self-publishing, even with a useful site and tools, is incredibly high.  Honestly, the books I read were invaluable.  Do NOT try self-publishing without at least reading up on the issues of formatting, ISBNs, cover design, etc.  I reviewed some books here that should equip you properly, and when done should probably do a summary again.

So things move on.  This is an incredibly educational experience for me.

When the book comes out I hope it is educational for you as well.

– Steven Savage

Book Update 2/8/2010

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And now an update on the Fan To Pro book.  I spent a lot of the weekend working on it, so here's the latest:

Status:

  • The book is actually formatted and uploaded at Lulu.com.  This actually took awhile due to PDF conversion issues.
  • I am now working on the cover, which seems to work well as a simple cover for now – though people are still dropping ideas on me left and right.  I think next time I may "fansource" cover design more and hands-off it.
  • I hope to get the cover finished in a week or so and approve the final version in March.
  • Release to Lulu will be earlier than release to Amazon and other stores as it takes a few weeks for a new book to go through the system.  I'm still aiming for March.

What I learned:

  • Typesetting and laying out a book is a very unappreciated skill that you will NOT appreciate until you actually do it knowing a book you set up will be available to the public.
  • PDF conversion is also a massive crapshoot.  Lulu.com's PDF conversion beat the one I had on my Mac Word.  I ended up using Mac Word to get my book PDF, but had to cope with some annoying margin issues.
  • The first time you do set up a book for publishing, take a whole day to do it.  Trust me on this.
  • Examine other books to get ideas for layouts, numbering, and more.  That helped a lot.
  • Don't forget title, copyright, dedication, and other pages.

So the book is all but ready to go.  It needs a cover, a print check, and some tweaking.  But late March is looking awfully good . . .

 . . . and yes when it's done I'll write up my experience with Lulu.com!

– Steven Savage

Book Update 1/12/2010

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Awhile ago I complained about no updates to the Warhammer 40K MMO.  Time to make sure I post updates on the Fan To Pro book.

I've been working on this since the summer – it got delayed as, when 80% complete, I decided my design didn't work.  So I sat down and rewrote the whole thing.  Frankly it's much better.

So here's the update, and I'll have new ones every now and then until publication.

  • The contents of the book are mostly done.  I want to add a bit more, especially a few more resource sections for "best resources."  I have best books and best online resources, but I want to think over if I need more.
  • The intro needs to be rewritten.  Oddly, its the part I'm least happy with.
  • The book is edited otherwise.  All the additions are new sections.  I fansourced the book editing out.
  • There will be an intro from my co-blogger, Bonnie, who has been through all of this with me.
  • 'm debating if the book needs an index.  The chapters are very clearly organized and differentiated, and I don't know if the book needs an index.
  • The cover is proving to be a pain to come up with.  Since I expect most sales to be online, that actually changes the kind of cover one wants to use.
  • I realized I need to develop a better plan to make people aware of the book, and have been researching that.

Here's what I've learned:

  • The archetypal book you think of doesn't exist in reality.  Books vary based on many factors.  I, loving indexes, find it odd that I'm thinking of leaving one out.
  • It's actually easy to write a book if you come up with a detailed outline first then write that to flesh it out.  It's a lot like good fiction.
  • There's quite a few self-publishing options.  Lulu.com managed to be a best-of-breed type.  Their success, however, also acted as a beacon to others to figure out how to make their self-publishing work.
  • Covers are a pain.  There's really no formula or plan to them.

The current publication date will be somewhere late March/early April 2010.  The unsurety comes from how fast I can get my proof.  I am using Lulu.com – so expect a review out of that.

So that's where I am.  A few more months and we're there.

– Steven Savage