The wonderful efficiency of CreateSpace

The proof copy of my paperback has finally arrived. When I say finally, I am exaggerating, because from uploading it to receiving the proof copy here in the UK took less than a week. All the way from the US to the UK!

And I am thrilled with the way it was packaged and delivered - and even better - thrilled with the way the book looks and feels. Apart from the fact that the cover can't have fancy embossing or anything like that (even if I could afford it) - the book looks exactly like a traditionally published novel. The paper quality is the same as the ones on my shelf, and the binding is not too tight to make reading difficult, nor so loose I fear I might lose some pages. It was well worth all my soul-searching about sizes and colour of paper and font (see previous posts).
By the way, did you spot the loose/lose combination there? Proves I have taken my editing seriously....

Now of course I have to read the damn thing again. For the umpteenth time - to check all is well and there are no lurking typos or other glitches. It will take me longer to re-read it than CreateSpace took to send it, but I'm hoping to get caught up in it at least once to the extent that I forget I'm supposed to be proofing. The sign of a good novel! Which of course means I'll have to go back and read it again. Then I can get some copies out to reviewers, and get some of that stuff you paint on your fingernails to stop me from biting them.

Then I might have hands like the ones on the left, though what the rest of their bodies are doing is anyone's guess!

Post and Packing - how to package a book for review

So, I've just ordered a proof copy of my book and I'm waiting to receive it. Once it arrives, if it's OK, I shall order more and be sending them out for review. I hope many reviewers will choose epub or mobi versions, but a few will want the paperback. (I have to say I have sweated blood over the paperback to make it as much like a trad-published book as possible. This is because that's what the reading public expect - a good cover, well-edited content, thoughtful presentation. After all, I hope readers will be actually paying me money for it.)

Posting the Book
Although I love the idea of recycling, I always think it looks a little untidy when sending review copies out, to have sellotaped, re-used bags. What do you think? Do you always buy new envelopes, or recycle ones from your enormous online ordering history? Do you care if the person is saving the planet or would you rather receive a pristine envelope? If you receive a recycled envelope do you imagine a tree-hugger with a garden full of organic veg and a wind turbine in the garden, and possibly dungarees and dreadlocks? Or do you imagine an impoverished single mum scraping together her last few coins to send you a book that she hopes will be paying the bills to put her kids through education?

Okay, okay, I'm getting a bit carried away here. I guess being professional is the answer. A nice neat new envelope then. But it's an interesting question - how much does the packaging affect your perception of the product? Do you actually like Amazon's cardboard envelopes?

And then - decisions, decisions!  First class or second class. Does second class make me look like a penny pinching miser? First class definitely gives the impression I care enough for it to get there quickly.

Internal contents
Someone suggested that I should include an A4 sheet with more information about the book along with the review copy. Another friend suggested postcards that the reviewer can give to friends. I have to say I'm favouring the former right now. But too much stuff in the envelope (as a reviewer) might make me suspicious that the author/publisher is trying too hard. Especially if it's stuffed with banknotes. Ha! Chance would be a fine thing.

Feel free to tweet me @davina_blake with any advice about packaging books for review. Or to tell me to get a life!

The photo of wrapped books is from Nic Freeman's Blog in which he randomly posted copies of a book to five people. That sounds a nice idea. And the picture below is linked to Elizannie's Blog in which she gives a potted history of the Post and discusses the privatisation of the Royal Mail. My postie certainly works hard dragging all my orders from the big A to my front door!

Glove stretchers - a helping hand

In my mother's era (which my daughter assures me was The Dark Ages), everyone wore gloves and carried a handbag that matched their shoes. I don't think I have any accessories that match, they are all a random collection of scarves and gloves, usually designed to keep out the cold, and mostly lacking in any recogniseable style.

The most popular colour for gloves in the early twentieth century was white, which supposedly went with anything, but must have been a nightmare to keep clean. To keep them from dust, they lived in special glove boxes. Often the glove boxes had a space in the lid for glove-stretchers.

So what is a glove stretcher?

The most hardwearing were kid and leather gloves, but these turned stiff and wrinkled after washing, so glove-stretchers were needed to bring them back to shape. This is what they looked like, a sort of clothes-peg affair that you could push into the fingers.

This picture of some Victorian gloves with their stretcher came from www.denhams.com, the auctioneers, and weirdly enough was right next to a 'lady's Pith Helmet.' (estimate £20) I have visions of an intrepid lady explorer wearing these gloves - but obviously it must have been somewhere where they didn't have OMO (see previous post) because they look quite grubby. Maybe she wrestled an alligator into a swamp or something.

I always fancied a pair of long evening gloves, but these needed to be powdered so they would be easier to get on and off.  For this you would use a glove powdering flask - a wooden container shaped like a pepperpot to hold talcum powder. I have often seen these at antique fairs without their lids, and thought they were some sort of odd little vase, but now I know what they are really for.

This picture below of these patterns for gloves to sew is from www.myhappy sewingplace.com, so if you are hot with fabric, super-crafty or want vintage patterns why not pop over there and check out this great site.

In my last post I talked about going OMO (ok indie, if you must *sighs*), and paying for the copy-editing I needed. I'm not wealthy enough to stretch to that again for the proofreading, so I have asked for a helping hand (get it?!) from an army of writer friends to proofread my book and catch all the typos and glitches. Because I am hyper about spelling and apostrophes in the wrong places, and I am seriously fanatical about typos, I have gathered a small army to nit pick over the text. All those keen writerly eyes must be able to spot the things I missed. (Anyone spot anything in here?) So I am hoping that in the proofreading stage at least, many eagle eyes are as good as one professional.

Oh, and by the way, don't be expecting me to be saying 'buy my book' any time soon, these things take time, and I want to enjoy it rather than rush it. And from what I hear from indie authors, saying 'buy my book' is a fatal error, instead you should be engaging people. Well, OK, I said my post on gloves would be riveting, and it clearly isn't that, but it could be construed as mildly engaging.

'Construed,' now there's a good word.

My next post will be on 1950's Libraries - when librarians really did wear spectacles and ask you to keep quiet because 'other people are reading'.

Mid list crisis causes dive into Indie waters

So why is the first post on this brand new blog about OMO? Well, it's because I am going it On My Own. In other words I have left the safe harbour of traditional publishing and I'm starting again from scratch with a new pen-name and a new blog.

Am I mad? Well you might think so, but my three books published with a large publisher are still languishing in the mid-list, despite their excellent five star reviews, and indie authors are extolling the virtues of the indie life. Except that the term indie sets my teeth on edge, as if we are all some kind of 1980's pop stars. So I prefer to say I am going OMO.

My book is finished, and my first shock was the cost of professional copy-editing. I asked the copyeditor of my other books what she charges and the answer nearly made me faint. She earns more in a week than I do with royalties from my books in a year. More than £20 an hour, which I know in any other business would be looked on as quite reasonable as an hourly wage. But somehow as writers we get used to not being paid very much, as trad publishing royalties are so small. Peanuts might be an improvement.

Maybe that will change! Maybe my mid-list crisis is really the beginning of something wonderful? And by the way, I will probably melt my visa card to pay for the edit. After all, I can trust in the quality of what I would be getting and I do want my book to be a quality publication.  Of course then I'll have to deal with the edits, but at least that is something familiar. Actually, if the editor is very nice about the book I send her, a little voice on my shoulder is whispering,  is that because now I am the one who is actually paying? Hmmm. Guess I might have to have a whole new relationship with people who do my edits, cover design etc. If I am paying, will they tell me if my ideas are rubbish, or just rub their hands in glee and snigger behind my back?

Anyway, here is Esther Williams looking gorgeous in one of her underwater scenes - how did she keep her hair like that underwater? And smile and keep her eyes open?

If you want more of Esther, the picture is linked to an obituary page for her, with many more fabulous pictures and info on her life and films - well worth a look.

Oh, and if you know any other trad published authors who are going OMO, please tell them to get in touch so we can hold hands through these treacherous indie waters!

Meanwhile I hope to keep you entertained with posts on all things old-fashioned and vintage. Friday's post will be about gloves. If you're yawning already, don't. I aim to make it riveting.