“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.
This is my first summer vending at Pagan Awareness Day in Vancouver and I’m excited! If you’re curious about Wicca or Druidry or just love all things spiritual and metaphysical, this is the place to be on August 23rd.
I’ll be there with my Hollystone Mysteries and a few print copies of The Man in Black series, as well as LURE, and Writing with your Muse for all you writerly folks searching for new ways to inspire creativity.
With 70+ vendors, tarot readers, energy healers, psychics and mediums, tea leaf readers, astrologers, and even Norse rune readers, I’m sure you’ll find your heart’s desire. What’s on offer? Candles and crystals, jewellery galore, art and decor, Indigenous art, textiles and clothing, witchy and apothecary supplies, incense and herbs, tarot decks, my own witchy fiction, kitchen witchery, beadwork and pottery. There’s ritual space and a stage for entertainers.
Do come out and say hello! Bring the family to this FREE celebration of pagan culture.
Find me at Port Moody Library Author’s Fair this Saturday June 15th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. I’ll be reading in the Fireside Lounge around 2:30pm. Please come by and say hello! It’s good to be back home!
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 am a Spring. I was also born in the spring. Perhaps that’s why I awaken at this time of year when birds call to their mates, creeks overflow their banks, and buds burst from branches.
Years ago, when Carole Jackson first published Colour Me Beautiful, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I’m surprised to find this book is still in print and available. I had the colour chart taped up in my closet for years. Have you ever had your colours done? I think it actually works.
Colour theory is based, not on colours you like, but on skin tones. I’m going to use my sister as an example. She is a Summer because she has more of a blueish skin tone. This means she can wear pastels. While I, with my yellowish skin tone, wash out in pastels. As a spring, I need warm, vibrant colours: orangy reds rather than blue-reds; coral, clear violet, turquoise, royal blue. I shouldn’t wear black; though if you know me at all, you know it’s my go-to. What colour palette works best for you?
It’s unfortunate that stores usually only offer seasonal colours. For example, in fall and winter, it’s all russets, dark greens, and wine tones, all of which don’t work for me. Thrift stores are the exception because there you can always find a rainbow.
As a child, I cocooned all winter in Ontario. As soon as spring came, I was out in the bush in my rubber boots, wading through creeks and searching for sprouts. Yellow dogtooth violets. Purple violets. The first trilliums. I still love to wade in ditches and creeks. Here in B.C. skunk cabbage is our first woodsy shoot and I saw some last week.
I’m desperate for spring as the last month, I’ve been sick more than I’ve been well. I lost a month of time and energy. I caught one cold from my grandson and we’d just barely recovered when he gave me a second virus from hell that’s hung on. After three solid weeks, I’m still coughing. Skaha and I went for our normal hour walk in the woods last week, and I needed a rest after. The last two nights I’ve been able to sleep all night without Buckley’s! Yay! How did you fare this flu season?
Bring on the sun. I want to dig in the dirt, rake leaves, play in the stream, walk the beaches, and plant.
If you’re curious about Spring Equinox (March 20th) We’Moon offers this beautiful page of facts and suggestions. Saturday, in the bright sunshine, I cleared the leaves from my garlic. Then put up my mini greenhouse and planted seeds. It feels so good to dig in the dirt.
Meet Barry Bear!
Skaha has a new housemate. Barry arrived on March 9th by plane from a shelter in Regina. He’s about six months old, a sweet gentle giant, wearing a full Canadian winter coat. We think it’s part Great Pyrenees. Right now, he’s about the same size as Skaha (around 60 pounds) but time will tell. The two of them are having a great old time together!
1) Many contests are bogus. They pocket entry fees and no one reads the entries. They randomly choose a winner. If you’re looking for vetted contests, Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) posts a lists of reputable awards.
2) Many awards are not open to Indies, or are open but traditional publishers with big bucks throw money at the books they choose to win.
3) Some contests have a zillion categories so you basically make up some random award and win it.
4) Some Indie award contests and some book reviewers, both whom I will not name, look down on genre-writers and only cater to what they call “literary” works, as if authors who write in a genre like mystery or romance or fantasy can’t also be literary.
5) At Wishing Shelf, two teams of real readers (one in London and one in Stockholm) actually read the books and make the decisions. There is one category for Adult Fiction so it’s competitive. For your entry fee, they do significant marketing for you, and they support Blind Children UK.
*This is the audio book cover for LURE. All of my books are now available on Google Play and on Kobo in audio. WhooHoo! I had a ball listening to my old British man read my stories as I corrected his pronunciation.
News and Musings
To Dance with Destiny. I wrote the first draft of Hollystone Book 5 faster than I’ve ever written a book before. I started in November and finished around mid-February. I left it for a full month (mostly because I was so darn sick) and just finished the first series of revisions. It’s always a blast to read your book again for the first time all the way through. Did I write that?
Yasaman has the paragraph about the tattoo and is starting her magic tattoo cover! Yes, someone will be getting a new tattoo in this book!
Ghostlight. I just spoke with the editor of Ghostlight and will be starting revisions soon. A couple of the teens I sent it to for a beta read said it needed a better title. Scary. Funny. Weird. Unique. Attention grabbing.
There’s a lighthouse, a family mystery, and a young woman who can’t tell the difference between ghosts and real people. Any ideas?
Craft Market. The first public market of 2023 is coming up on Saturday April 2nd at Union Bay Community Club. If you live mid-Island, do come by the say hello.
