“Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,” began John Keats in his famous sonnet,“ On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” 1816.
Not only was it a metaphor for the exquisite literature he’d read, but a reference to the gilded fore-edges of a book. The process of coating a book’s edges in gold became popular in England during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The edge could be painted in a solid color or contain a small work of art like this book from the Virginia Museum of Art & Culture.
This flourish has become new again and I love it. In fact, I’m drawn to buying and collecting such books. I first saw this on Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, published by ECCO, an imprint of HarperCollins. Then last week, I picked up The Faraway Inn, a YA cozy fantasy by Sarah Beth Durst, that I LOVE (published by Delacorte Press, a division of Random House and manufactured in India.)
So, the Big Five are pushing this trend. I wonder how promising you or your book must be to become one of the chosen ones. More importantly, as traditionally published books raise the “pretty” bar, where does that leave us Indie authors?
Many of us have our books printed on demand by either KDP/Amazon (who is still the cheapest source in Canada) or Ingram Spark Lightning Source (who have a global network but no printers in Canada.) Book Vault offers “sprayed edges” in either a solid color, chosen from a palette, or a custom design. If you live in or around Britain you have the “edge” here as that’s where they’re printed. I got a quote just out of interest.
To make my latest novel “bespoke” (with solid-painted edges) the cost came back at £8.87 or roughly $16.85 per book (for up to 99 copies.) For a 272-page paperback, this includes shipping from England to Winnipeg and then on to me on the West Coast. But not taxes.
If, like me, you sell your books at markets for around $20 or you write bigger books or books with smaller dimensions than 6×9 which equals more pages, the cost is prohibitive. This doesn’t consider your time and expertise, your expenses (such as market fees), advertising, editors, and marketing. Writing is, after all, a business for most of us, even if we haven’t given up our day job.
Having said that, I’m tempted to order a case of my latest standalone because I’m so enamored by the look.
I’d love to see this paperback with gold edging.
But wait— Another option is to learn the craft and do it yourself. This really intrigues me. A quick search tells me there are authors out there painting their own edges and making them remarkably “pretty.” With some wooden planks larger than your book, four heavy-duty clamps, extra paper, a couple of good brushes and some good quality water-based paint, you’re on your way.
You could even invite your writer friends over for a painting session (maybe not wine and painting.) I just created wands and have some brilliant gold I’d love to play with. Beware of the Reader offers a step-by-step tutorial. I’d suggest starting with some of those books that you just can’t sell for whatever reason. You want to be able to paint “without bleed” before you start in on your good copies.
I do think that painted edges might become a “thing” in my library. Of course, I’ll have to stand them all spine-in, or lay them flat, so we can admire the lovely art.
Atkins says his inspiration for this middle-grade adventure novel was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and I can believe it. The narrative sounds akin to novels of that era. The diction and tone strike me as similar to other Victorian novels written for children; meaning there is a formality to the language, a sense of propriety even at the worst of times, and the children are treated like grownups. For that reason, I believe this is a book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, though it may especially appeal to middle-grade/YA boys and girls because of the rollicking adventure. Note: There’s no romantic subplot; at least not yet.
Yet these are no Disney pirates.
Captain Garrett and his first mate, Mr. Bellows (who does indeed bellow frequently) take in eleven-year-old Emma Sharpe who’s run away from a wretched orphanage (more like a workhouse) and stowed aboard the New Adventure in 1701. Emma quickly becomes friends with the Captain’s cabin boy, Jack Randall, and a varied and eccentric cast of characters. The thing that distinguishes the New Adventure is its swashbuckling, yet decent, equitable captain. The crew, both men and women, work as a team—there’s none of this women-are-bad-luck stuff—and whatever booty they collect is shared by all.
During her first year aboard ship, as the crew sale from Bristol to Barbados, Emma becomes an able seaman, experiencing wonderful teachers (Captain Garrett and Catherine Ducharme, the master-at-arms; inclement weather including the doldrums; shipboard shenanigans; and hostile pirates. By assisting the shipboard doctor and borrowing literature from the Captain’s library, Emma learns geography, science, zoology and botany while exploring islands from Africa to the West Indies.
The crew discover a pirate ship loaded with gold, a cursed treasure, and murdered crewmen because well, when “The Pirates Went Mad,” they killed each other. How will Emma’s crew survive their own curse-induced madness?
Some things that make this book stand out:
Jon Merchant’s old-timey, original, hand-drawn illustrations suit the story. There’s a lovely map marking their route around Tobago, the island in the West Indies where the climax occurs. Atkins includes a four-page glossary. He’s done scads of research and run down countless rabbit holes, yet somehow managed to tell the story in a way that educates without excessive info-dumping. His unique players stay in character, accents and all. We can imagine Mr. Bellows bellowing, “Ya’ heard the captain!”
In this interview, Atkins reveals: “The spark was an idea for a short story I decided I would write for my daughter. One about a girl overcoming a cursed pirate treasure, inspired by the greedy in-fighting and backstabbing represented in R.L. Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and Y.E. Allison’s poem “Derelict” – all that for a bit of gold and silver. This tale would take us on our own adventure during the Golden Age of Piracy, and simultaneously let us talk about what life was really like back then versus how it’s been popularized in pirate fiction.”
Check out this website for all kinds of insider information on Emma Sharpe’s Adventures.
This book is a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards, 2025 Children’s category. The winner will be announced in Whistler on October 31st. Best of luck in taking home the prize and may no pirates sully your journey there and back again!
It’s always exciting to see how many published authors live in the neighbourhood (Port Coquitlam – Coquitlam – Port Moody. The Port Moody Library celebrates these authors by including their books in their White Pines Collection. Each year, they hold a wonderful gala to introduce the authors and their books to the community. Here’s a photo of all the authors who we celebrated last year!
This year they accepted the last two print books in my Hollystone Series, and I received this invitation. Everyone is welcome to attend. You can find more information at this library link. Hope to see you there!
As some of you know, Lure was a finalist in the UK Wishing Shelf Awards this year. It’s a wonderful, legitimate contest and one I highly recommend for several reasons. The contest is run by Edward Trayer, a Young Adult/Children’s book author, who created a fair and honest process to help Indies. The entry fee is reasonable (£39) and books are read and judged by reading teams in London and Stockholm. As a Canadian, I’m excited to hear what European readers think of my work. For your entry fee, you receive excellent feedback and an honest Goodreads and Bookbub review based on readers’ comments. Finalists have the option of purchasing a real gold medal. I love to show mine to customers at markets.
I received my feedback this morning. First, I’ll share what the readers said about LURE, and then I’ll add some general commentary for Indie authors that I share with the Wishing Shelf team. I like that the reader is identified by age and gender, and that you also receive the stats. So here we go:
Of those 15 readers:
14 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
14 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers — 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was
‘plotting a story’ — 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was
‘developing the characters’ — 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’ — 15 felt the pacing was good or excellent — 14 thought the author understood the readership and what they
wanted.
Readers’Comments (This part makes my heart thump!)
“Excellent chemistry between the characters, and plenty happening to keep most thriller lovers turning the page. The ‘disturbing discovery’ is when the book took off for me. I plan to hunt out other novels by this author.” Male reader, 37
“A surprisingly fun story considering the subject matter. The author is good at plotting and developing the two central characters, Hawk and Jesse. I loved the twists in the story, and the setting worked perfectly.” Female reader, 38
“Always fun to find an author who’s prepared to offer readers a highly original tale with a highly original setting. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama.” Female reader, 42
“I suspect anybody who enjoys a cleverly plotted mystery and has an interest in Native American culture will find this a compelling story. The author works hard – and is mostly successfully – in delivering suspense, mystery, and even romance.” Female reader, 53To Sum It Up:
‘A skillfully plotted mystery with a cast of fully developed
characters. A FINALIST and highly recommended!’ The Wishing
Shelf Book Awards
I'm thrilled by the feedback but what I really appreciate is the depth of analysis. This isn't about glitz. It's about quality and affect on readers. So, thank you Edward Trayer (Billy Bob Buttons) for a well-conceived and managed contest.
Tips from The Wishing Shelf Filtered Through the Lens of My Experience: Included was some general feedback Edward and his teams have amassed over the years. Indie authors, especially when starting out, tend to make mistakes. As a book reviewer and voracious reader, I often see the issues I'm paraphrasing here.
Blurb: A book blurb is not a summary; it's a sales pitch. Make it short and enticing. Who are the main characters: protagonist and antagonist. What are the stakes? Include a cool tagline. For example: A SEXY HITCHCOCKIAN THRILLER THAT DEMYSTIFIES VAMPIRE AND ILLUSTRATES THE POWER OF LOVE (To Render a Raven.) I also add author endorsements.
Formatting: Though it's tempting to reduce printing costs by using small fonts and slim margins, don't make your text illegible or crowded along the inside crease. Use clear, crisp, readable fonts. Don't be seduced by weird, cool, or pretty.
Pacing: Don't rush the climax and the ending. As Edward says it should be "BIG AND EXCITING" not two pages and THE END.
Editing: Nothing turns a reader off like typos. Hire a professional editor to scour your text for spelling and grammar problems. The author's eyes tend to glance over the text.
Beginnings: Start "in medias res" or in the middle of the action. Nothing kills the excitement of a story like pages of setting, backstory, and description. Yes, we need to know place and time, but try to show it by having your character engaged in some exciting activity that will grab the reader.
Word Length: Character development takes time. Don't rush it and publish a novella that should be a full-length novel. Most novels are between 70,000 - 90,000 words, but check the expectations for your genre.
Point-of-View: Omniscient is out and Limited Omniscient or First Person is in. This means, the viewpoint character only knows certain things, and not what's happening in the heads of other characters. They can assume, wonder, or interpret via the actions of others but "head-hopping" is a cardinal sin. When you're tempted to describe another character's reactions or thoughts in detail, it's time to switch scenes.
I hope you find this helpful. I don't often let my captive English teacher out, but sometimes I just gotta say … Do it right. And, thank you to Edward and the Wishing Shelf team for all your hard work.
I’m thrilled to announce that LURE: Jesse & Hawk just won a National Indie Excellence Award. I’m proud of LURE and how far it’s come. It was the first book I ever completed way back in the early 1990s when I deep into Indigenous Studies at Trent University. I wrapped it in brown paper and carried it around through many moves over many years. A couple of years ago, I rewrote it and launched it.
It’s hard for Indie authors these days. We’re often seen as inferior because our work hasn’t been accepted by a big publisher, so an award like this really makes me feel good.
