Thanks guys, bringing my book to market is proving to be a bit of a learning curve,but the challenge it presents is an opportunity to be a writer. Something I've always wanted to be.
Currently I'm working on the cover typography, up to version three so far. Lots to think about and, the choices between flashy crowd pleasing typography versus a solid sense of craft that makes each book look like part of a series.
You've probably come across arguments for both. There are some readers who think "oh, this is book 2 of a series, I won't buy it, book 1 isn't here on the shelf, I'll buy something else instead". There are others who like the covers to look uniform or spot the new one in the series because it looks like the last one.
But I don't know any of these people. I don't know people who buy new books in shops, or based on the cover, at all any more. I don't know how many of them are left, or how they think.
I'm guessing one of the cover design tasks is to make the thing look reasonable at 100 pixels wide…
Looking at the books I've read recently, the last one that wasn't a personal recommendation, a continuation of a series, or part of the Hugo-Nebula Reread, was David Hambling's The Elder Ice - and I think that was an algorithmic recommendation on Goodreads.
(The usual warning applies: people who market to appeal to me are not marketing for bulk sales, to the point that "doesn't appeal to Roger" may actually be correlated with higher sales to everyone else.)
Not Making Progress/Five Hundred Hexes
-
It's been a busy week. I can't quite put a finger on what has made it busy
but it has been none the less. There was a haircut, some laser cutting and
tidyi...
Wargame Butterfly? Me? Hmmm....
-
While the blog has been quiet for a few weeks, I have been anything but
quiet when it comes to the hobby. However, I have to confess, I've been
massively...
Arab Camps and Extras
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Now that the infantry and cavalry for the Arabs are done, it was time to
fill in all the extras you need to actually get the army onto the table:
primari...
Not Quite the Full Monte Cassino
-
We are off the MK: Campaign at the weekend, and Chris is once more taking a
10 minute NQM game featuring the Northants Regiment in WW2.
The challenge wi...
The Secret Workbench
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Just thought I'd share how I've been infiltrating my hobby bench and gear
into our home arranging my workbench.
We often have visitors with toddlers, who...
Stuka Ace: Blitzkrieg in the West
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*Christmas 1939 — Voss Family Home, Braunschweig*
Snow fell in soft curtains outside the windows of the Voss family home,
blanketing the garden in white ...
The Errorist Strikes Again!
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I found this YouTube channel, and it made me laugh. So, I'm spreading it
here, and suggest if you like this sort of humour, go subscribe to her
channel.
...
Corpsefire
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Playing one of the military expedition mini-campaigns in Oathbreakers, I
needed a corpsefire mini. I decided to use this Reaper Bones miniature.
In a simu...
Salute 2025
-
OK, it's two days late but here is my photo round-up of Salute 2025. You
can also take it as proof of life, given that I haven't posted here since
last ...
-
Flicking through an old Strategy & Tactics magazine and this caught my eye.
Not sure I had seen a pre-SJG era advert previously.
From Issue No 70, Sep/O...
I've Been Keeping Busy
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I've been pretty active with hobby stuff over the last couple of months,
just not keeping up with the blog unfortunately. All of my computers are
having...
Sharp Practice: A Hero in Peril at Roganjosh!
-
Back to a turbulent India with Phil and Andy, and another *Sharp Practice*
game was the British race to rescue Colonel Flashman, captured by the
Pandies an...
Warp Speed into 2025
-
The last year has been quite challenging. I suffered a stroke in November
2023 and have spent the last year or so in recovery. I'm not there yet, but
do...
2024 in review
-
The best laid plans, as they say, once again... (and we'll see how 2025's
plans look in the next post!)
There's a big 'ole right outside
my bedroom window...
Postponed - A Clash of Demons - CosCon 2020
-
Due to the coronavirus chaos, I'm going to withdraw this game and run it at
a later con. I am also developing another scenario using more of the
city-kille...
Click to embiggen: a perfectly cromulent word. I always wondered what was the difference between a wood and a forest, or a jungle. So now I...
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Looks good.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great. Makes me look forward to the book even more.
ReplyDeleteVery cool!
ReplyDeleteNice !!!
ReplyDeleteCertainly piques my curiosity.
Thanks guys, bringing my book to market is proving to be a bit of a learning curve,but the challenge it presents is an opportunity to be a writer. Something I've always wanted to be.
ReplyDeleteThat looks cool!
ReplyDeleteCurrently I'm working on the cover typography, up to version three so far. Lots to think about and, the choices between flashy crowd pleasing typography versus a solid sense of craft that makes each book look like part of a series.
ReplyDeleteYou've probably come across arguments for both. There are some readers who think "oh, this is book 2 of a series, I won't buy it, book 1 isn't here on the shelf, I'll buy something else instead". There are others who like the covers to look uniform or spot the new one in the series because it looks like the last one.
DeleteBut I don't know any of these people. I don't know people who buy new books in shops, or based on the cover, at all any more. I don't know how many of them are left, or how they think.
I'm guessing one of the cover design tasks is to make the thing look reasonable at 100 pixels wide…
You know me, and I still buy books in shops, and often a book cover will attract me to read the blurb.
DeleteFair enough!
DeleteLooking at the books I've read recently, the last one that wasn't a personal recommendation, a continuation of a series, or part of the Hugo-Nebula Reread, was David Hambling's The Elder Ice - and I think that was an algorithmic recommendation on Goodreads.
(The usual warning applies: people who market to appeal to me are not marketing for bulk sales, to the point that "doesn't appeal to Roger" may actually be correlated with higher sales to everyone else.)
I bought and read The Elder Ice after reading your review, and I suspect it's not the sort of book one would find in Forbidden Planet.
Delete