You know, some days just get away from me. Do you feel like that? Where did Wednesday go? Here I am posting on Thursday – sorry if you wondered where I was.
I mentioned last week that I’m clearing the clutter so I can see the wood for the trees. I’ve also been preparing my book file for my new book Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John. I finished editing it, and, using a copy of my other book file, pasted it into the right format. It was then I discovered it was eight pages longer than the first book.
I spoke to my printer, who gave me a quote. Too much. I want to charge the same price, since this is a companion to my first book, Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth. So if the printing costs are higher, I have to absorb them and cut my income. I think printing costs have gone up since last year anyway, so there’s only so much I can absorb.
Alina is £4.99 and that price is important. Because it’s particularly aimed at tourists, at under £5 it’s an impulse buy. Any more, and they stop and think about if they can afford it or are willing to spend that much. But at ‘only’ £4.99 they are more likely to spend the money.
So, eight pages too many. And the pages are printed four at a time, so I have to lose four or eight. I went back to editing, and managed to save four pages. Then I realised that I didn’t need a front title sheet like they have in most books, because it’s only a slim volume. Suddenly, I have saved six pages! But six pages is two too many or two too few.
Then I remembered the advice to advertise the first book in the second. So Broken Reed now has the introduction from Alina in the back! And I amended my Contact the Author page in the front to mention it as well.
With a few other tweaks, my book file is ready. All I need now is the illustrations and the cover, and it can go to the printer. I even put the new ISBN in, since you have to buy them in blocks of ten, so I have a few to use up as I write other books. I still have to prepare the ebook file, but that’s much more straight-forward.
Now you see why I don’t know what day it is!