I seem to be going on the theory that if I book myself up to the hilt, I'll get a lot done.This seems to work. Of course a lot of stuff also doesn't get done. Sometimes these are the most important things. Sometimes they are things I can't even remember what they were.
I've mostly been burning up braincells on coming up with cover concepts. My mind is getting tired enough that I've been unable to finish up many of them lately. This is something that happens in writing too. If you press very hard, and your mind starts getting tired, there comes a point where your follow through suffers.
Which is okay for what I'm doing right now: because I'm doing a lot of images and figures and I can finish up designs for them later. (See here, the first one "Action Man 1" is already up on the Self-Pub Book Covers site, but the one further down the page -- "Victorian Action Man 1" -- is waiting because I think the design needs a dame. But I have to wait until my brain is fresh to know for sure.)
Should I REALLY Overload Myself?
One of the things on my mind is what to do with the sequel to Test of Freedom. For my own sanity, I should probably stick to my original goal of starting the next story, League of Freedom, in the fall.
However....
This story feels like it ought to have it's own blog and it's own schedule. Longer episodes, once-a-week. In and of itself it wouldn't be that much more work, because I have a draft of the story which should last me a year.
BUT, one of the reasons I want to create a separate blog for it is because I feel that The Perils of Lady Pauline (the series of which The Case of the Misplace Hero is a part) is more in fitting to the overall tone of the blog....
Oh, yeah, so if I move the Freedom stories out, I have to fill in that space with stuff I haven't yet written. (I could do that. Sure I could....)
And I really ought to make up my mind by Thursday, when I post the wrap up story notes for the series, and will promise readers when and where the story will continue.
Coming Up This Week
In the meantime, I'll be posting the teaser episode for the next section of Test of Freedom, in which we will meet the new governor of Sabatine, someone who will be familiar to those who've read Wife of Freedom.
On Tuesday I'll talk about the one thing you can do to make your type a little more professional looking, even if you only have the most primitive of tools.
Wednesday, I'll talk about Omniscient Voice, and about how Richard Lockridge and others used it.
Thursday will be an update on what's next for the various serials, and on Friday... not sure. I might talk about Phroso, a romantic adventure by Anthony Hope I found on Project Gutenberg. I won't be finished reading it by Friday, but I think I already have things to say about it.
See you in the funny papers.
3 comments:
That first cover is pretty strong visually.
The second for me ... not sure. I love the image of the guy with a gun (it kind of seems like a mystery novel with Victorian/steampunk elements), but I'm conflicted about that background. To me it looks like a simple texture filter that you wanted to simulate parchment but it needs something more then. (Honestly, I would have liked this better without the parchment texture I think.)
Still- I think your covers read well so far and you pick some good fonts!
I got pointed to DAFonts.com as of late and have lost a few hours there. Love what they have.... but wish I could find more ornaments to use... I ended up going to a scrapbooking/stamp idea for ideas although won't be using them on my first rough attempt at a book cover.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Google just ate my comment. A long and interesting comment.
The font choices for Self-Pub Book Covers are very narrow and generic. Also the palette of color choices are AWEFUL. They don't let the artists do the final typography -- that's left to the author doing it on an automated interface something like LOLcats.
So... I design specifically to make the fonts look good. Since the typography is what makes a cover look professional (or amateur) that's that's essential.
The other problem is that they insist on a) having a bleed for the print version, and b) INCLUDING THAT FREAKING BLEED IN THE IMAGE for the ebook version. Which means I can't do for the Victorian one what it really needs: It really needs a frame. With or without the parchment.
Alternatively I need to break up the background space (since it's not held together) and there are a bunch of ways I can do that. I haven't figured out how to do it with my best idea yet, though.
Glad to hear you've stumbled across DaFont! I usually save links to my favorite font artists there. In the meantime, what sort of ornaments are you looking for? I've been finding some really nice ornament and decorative work on Project Gutenberg when I go searching for illustrated works there.
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