New cover for Nail Your Novel! And FREE stuff….

The new cover should now be live on all the buying outlets, so here’s the official unveiling!

So why did I change?

First of all, I wanted to funk it up. Give it a chance to pop. The purple cover didn’t scream ‘creativity’ and was rather more staid than the tone of the book. (A point that was echoed by a few commenters here and there. Glad we feel the same, guys!)

Also, the original cover wasn’t designed with a series in mind. For books 2, 3 et al I could have varied the background colour and the wording, but the difference would have been practically invisible on a black and white ereader. And see my previous remarks about dullness. Dull, dull, dull.

This tied me in a few creative knots when I designed the characters book. It had to look like it evolved from NYN original, and allow for distinctive variations with further books. And then – something that nobody knew but me – the characters book and its cousins also had to fit retroactively with the updated design.

So… the new NYN cover had to look like the origin book, rather than another book in the series. For a while I fiddled with graphics that would suggest ‘writing’ and ‘drafting’, but decided that might look like another new book. In the end I stuck with typography, to echo the original cover’s use of quotes from the text. This gives it the best chance of being recognised as the original book, but still look like a snazzy reboot.

Big tip for updating a cover on CreateSpace

When you update a cover (or the book’s interior) on CreateSpace, the book becomes unavailable until you approve it, although it’s still available from third-party sellers. It spends 12-24 hours being processed, then they allow you to proof on screen or order a print proof.

Obviously you don’t want your book off sale. so you want this completed swiftly. With a major change like a new cover, you need to see it in print; with colour processes, trimming and so on I think it’s too risky to okay a new cover on a digital proof only. But the fastest you can get a proof to your door is a couple of days, and you’ll pay a big whack for the postage. But if you don’t mind how long the proof takes to arrive (up to six weeks) it will cost only a few dollars.

Your book off sale for six weeks? (Sound of screaming.) Here’s my solution. Make a dummy book.

In my previous post, Catherine Ryan Howard advised you not to make a new edition when updating a book. I agree with her. But this dummy edition will not go on sale. You’ll use it to do the fine tuning, then transfer the files when you know they work.

You need to set it up with a new ISBN – but that doesn’t matter because you can use a free CS one. But you upload the new cover on that and order a copy. While it wends its sweet way to you via China and the International Space Station, the real book sits undisturbed and available. Once you’ve seen physical proof and are happy, you know you can upload the new cover in safety.

A limited edition giveaway!

So… this means I have a special thingy to give away: the dummy book. I decided to have fun with it. Instead of loading it with the interior of the proper book, I created a notebook (which in my CS dashboard I called the Nail Your Novel Notebook of Surprises). The pages are numbered but blank, so you can scribble your ideas and workings but keep track of them with an index. And the surprise? Every 10 pages or so is a writing tip.

There’s only one, so this is an ultra-limited edition. It won’t be on sale as I can’t imagine anyone wanting to actually buy the thing, but it’s fun to be able to give it away. I’ll also throw in a copy of the original book with its old cover, for you to use or to pass on to a friend.

What do you have to do?

Share this post about my new cover, come back here and let me know you have, and I’ll hold a draw on Monday 8th July. One entry per place shared – so you get multiple goes if you spread the news on Twitter, Facebook, G+ or even the International Space Station. Just remember to note here if you shared on multiple platforms.

Oh, and you can find the new Nail Your Novel, with extra cover va-va-voom, on print and ebook outlets now

How to make a print book using Word – first of a series at Writers & Artists

Gosh, this is grown-up. After I gently pointed out to Writers & Artists that some self-publishers are as adept in print as in e-publishing, we got chatting. They were interested in my background (running an editorial department, writing, editing, book production and this blog!) and the result is I’m doing a series at Bloomsbury’s Writers & Artists site on fundamentals for good self-publishing.

This first piece is on turning an ebook file into a print edition. It’s an expanded version of a pair of posts I wrote when I released the paperback of My Memories of a Future Life, and hopefully a little more simplified for first-timers. If you want to know more about how to make lovely-looking books, come on over.

How to self-publish an ebook and get a traditional book deal – guest spot on The Write Lines podcast

When I was first discovering blogs – and looking for a home for my own fiction – I discovered The Write Lines on BBC Radio Oxford. Presenter and novelist Sue Cook brought together experts from UK publishing to give advice, information and resources for new writers.

Fast forward through a few revolutions and the latest series (now a podcast) is exploring indie publishing – both as a leg-up to a traditional deal and a viable option in itself. Some of the authors whose blogs I was reading as the first series aired are her experts this time – including Nicola Morgan and Catherine Ryan Howard – and me. I feel like I’ve graduated. Exciting times…

In my episode I’m sharing a studio with indie superstars Mark Edwards (one half of the Edwards/Louise Voss partnership) and Mel Sherratt. You can either listen on the site or download….