Publishing Paperbacks with Draft2Digital

A couple of years ago, I put together a collection of my fantasy short stories. Part of the reason for this was to make these stories available in paper (some of them had appeared in paper anthologies, but others hadn't.) I tried formatting the paperback version myself through KDP, but I had trouble with the cover. (To be honest, I made the front cover for this collection myself with a purchased stock photo, but I don't have enough skill to make a complete paperback cover.) So I put that project on hold until recently, when Draft2Digital (D2D) opened up their print process for all authors.

If you have a manuscript and a cover, you can convert them into a paper book through a series of guided steps. You start by uploading the manuscript and entering basic details about the book (title, contributors, blurb, and others.) You also need to assign an ISBN at this stage. I used one of my own, but D2D provides free ones if you need them. 

The second step is editing the interior of your book. This includes selecting the paper color and size. D2D offers a variety of genre-themed templates and will allow you to edit page numbers, headers, and other elements. Unfortunately, the Table of Contents I had prepared didn't show up properly through the D2D editor. D2D can add a Table of Contents, but it appears as the first page of the book, which isn't traditional. I ultimately solved the problem by uploading a PDF file instead of a Word document. (I use a template I purchased from BookDesignTemplates for both eBooks and paperbacks; I wonder if that affects formatting D2D can do.)

One you're done with the interior, it's time to work on the cover. Since I didn't have a full cover, D2D paired my eBook cover with a black back cover and spine. I was able to change the color (though it took several tries to match the front). I also had to change the text entered on the spine, but I was also able to upload my publishing logo. The text on the back was the hardest part. D2D automatically uploaded my blurb, author photo, and bio, but the text size for the blurb was too small to be legible. It took some experimentation to make it bigger. I had to shorten my biography to make it fit.

Once I finally finished formatting everything, I decided to order a physical proof to confirm the book looked the way I wanted it to. Ordering a physical proof is $30, but I figured it was worth it since this was the first time I'd used D2D for this. Perhaps when I'm more comfortable with it, I'll stick with free online proofs. I just received the proof (pictured above) on Monday, so I approved the book. Now I have to see how long it takes to be available online. I think the paperbacks will be available on Amazon as well as D2D's other sites, but it may take a few weeks before distribution is complete. I can order author copies in the meantime.

Publishing paper books is a tricky process, but it's worth it to have another, physical format for my works. Hopefully I'll publish The Season Between and Restaurants and Revenge later this year. I'll have full covers designed for them, which will make the publishing process simpler. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions about the process, and I'll answer them the best I can.
 

A Game of Chaos: Excerpt

 Happy Spring! Since Monday was the spring equinox, I thought I'd celebrate by posting an excerpt from a short story featuring Gwen, the Goddess of Spring's Avatar. I wrote this story for an anthology about games, but it was rejected. I'm debating whether or not to add it to my upcoming short story collection The Season Between. (This collection is meant to include one short story featuring each of the Season Avatars, and Gwen is already represented by another story.) Perhaps if I ever write for Substack or do more with my newsletter, I can save this story as a reward for certain subscribers. Anyway, here's the first scene:

Dame H’even, the One Oak’s head housekeeper, was never late for her morning meeting in Gwen’s study. Gwen had already refilled her fountain pens, reviewed the notes from yesterday’s healing session, and checked the wind-up clock on the mantel more times than she wanted to admit, all while keeping her queasy stomach from rebelling. To make matters worse, no one had brought up a breakfast tray for her. She couldn’t heal anyone without food to fuel her magic, especially in her condition. Gwen tugged the bellpull. The clock ticked off several minutes, but no one responded.

“By All Four Gods and Goddesses, something’s wrong,” she muttered. The servants at the One Oak took great pride in serving the Four’s Avatars. If none of them were available, some dire emergency must be threatening everyone. Gwen glanced around her study, wishing she had a fighting staff from the Temple to defend herself. She could use her magic to stun or injure an enemy, but she had to get close enough to touch them first.

Empty-handed, she ventured into the hallway. No one was visible in either direction, but her keen ears picked up voices from the servants’ quarters on the floor above. Although she seldom ventured to the third floor, she knew where the stairs were. They were plain and narrow, unlike the stairs in the rest of the house, and her steps echoed on the scuffed wood. As she reached the top, the voices became clearer. Several women, including the housekeeper and Daisy, Gwen’s personal maid.

“Freeze it, Dame H’even, why’d you take that card?”

“Language, Dama!”

“I have a quartet!”

Gwen raised her eyebrow. That didn’t sound like people in distress.

She knocked a couple times on the housekeeper’s door before swinging it open. Four women in the One Oak’s livery were crowded around a tiny table, each holding a fan of cards. They didn’t look up as Gwen entered the room but continued picking cards from each other’s hands.

“Dame H’even? We have things to discuss before I head into Midpoint this afternoon.”

The housekeeper laid a quartet of cards on the crowded table. Daisy stared at it. “Are you sure you’re not hiding the Chaos card, Dame H’even?”

Gwen’s stomach threatened to rebel. She forced the nausea down but felt so weak she had to lean against the doorway. “Daisy, why didn’t you come when I summoned you? And whatever happened to breakfast?”

The four women continued drawing cards. Even the maid facing the doorway seemed oblivious to Gwen’s presence. They couldn’t have gone deaf, as they were speaking to each other, but they acted as if nothing outside of the game mattered.

Writing Recap

It's hard to believe this is the last post for February 2023. The days may be long sometimes, but the years get shorter and shorter as one gets older. Since it's the end of the month, here's a quick recap on my writing projects.

I recently had rejections on two short stories. One I'm going to hold for possible inclusion in my The Season Between collection, which will be set in my fantasy Season Avatars universe. The other one has already been submitted to several markets (I haven't kept good records regarding its submission history), so I'll probably keep it on the back burner until I see another potential market for it. I still have two more stories out for consideration, but I don't like to say much about submitted stories for fear I'll jinx them.

Speaking of short stories, I'm working on another solarpunk story for an upcoming annual contest; the current working title is "Inside, Outside." I recently finished the first draft, which is about 4,700 words. I haven't been completely satisfied with previous submissions to this contest, so I've started working on it earlier, before the submission window opens. That gives me more time to revise it. (I'm not the kind of person who can bang out a short story every week; I need several drafts to make it worth reading.) 

I've also managed to resolve a subplot in Restaurants and Revenge, so hopefully after a few more tweaks, I'll be done with the major edits. Then I can work on line edits and maybe order the cover art.

Once I finish these current projects, I want to return to The Season Between collection and finish editing the stories (and deciding how many to include). I also need to go back to writing the first draft of Bubble Tea and a Body, the next book in my cozy mystery series.

An author's work is never done, so I guess it's time to get back to it. I'll be back next week with another IWSG post.

Project Updates

It's been a while since I discussed the projects I'm working on, so I thought I'd give a brief status update on them today. At the very least, it'll make me more accountable to myself. So here's a list of my various writing projects in no particular order:

Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) Story: I mentioned previously that I'm working on a story for a cli-fi contest. The title is currently "The Trees of Carson Tower," but I may change it. I'm still working on the first draft, as I took a wrong turn with the plot and got stuck. I think I've figured out how to proceed and hope I can finish the draft by the end of the week--or month, at latest. The deadline for submitting the story is April 12th. If I don't make that deadline, or if the story is rejected, I may save it for a cli-fi collection of my own. This story is my top priority at the moment.

Jenna's Journey: This story is intended for a short story collection that will be set after Summon The Seasons and act as a bridge between my Season Avatars series and a spin-off series. This particular story will follow Jenna as she travels to the heart of the Fip Empire. The Season Avatars normally don't leave their country, so there will be plenty of opportunities for world-building and character development, as well as foreshadowing the short story Rob's Choice. I'm still partway through the first draft. This is the story I work on when I'm stuck with my other projects.

Murder at Magic Lake: I finally managed to finish the second draft; revising this story took longer than writing it, which isn't surprising since cozy mysteries are a new genre for me. I'm going to read through it again and decide if I'm ready for beta readers. I can draft a blurb when I pitch this story on a Facebook group for cozy mystery readers and writers. This story is my second priority.

Restaurants and Revenge: This is the second book in my cozy mystery series. I'm around halfway through the first draft, but I've already had to go back and revise it as I get new ideas. This story has been put on hold for a while, but once I finish the cli-fi story, I plan to return to it.

Silents for Swans: This is a pandemic version of a fairy tale I wrote last summer. I've submitted it to three different markets without success. There's a potential market for this story, but the submission period won't open until November. I'm holding the story for now, but if I find a market that sounds like a good fit before November, I'll send it there.

Thoth's Wager: This is a short story written for a themed anthology, but it was rejected. I revised it, but I need to send it to different markets. The subgenre is godpunk, so I need to find a place that's looking for that genre.

What are you working on? Feel free to share in the comments.

Selling Short Stories

Over the past few years, I've become more interested in writing short stories. However, figuring out what to do with them when they're done isn't always easy. Some of them I've written as part of the Catalyst Chronicles or Season Avatars series, so I've published them independently. Other stories have been published independently because I wanted to put them out. However, I've also been writing stories for specific anthologies. Some of them were accepted by the targeted anthology, but not all of them were. I also wrote a fairty-tale-takeoff last year because I needed to write it in response to the pandemic. I've submitted it to a few professional markets without takers so far. However, I just learned of a potential market for fairy tale stories that will open in November, so I'll hold this short story until then. Another short story I'm trying to sell has Egyptian/godpunk/urban fantasy elements. I'm still deciding if I want to submit it to pro and semipro markets now or wait until I learn of a market looking for this specific type of story.

Some short stories I'm working on have the potential for future collections whether or not I sell them elsewhere. The cli-fi story I mentioned last week is set in the same world as "A Shawl for Janice," and I have another story that could be revised to fit there as well. If I write a few more stories in that setting (I mentioned a couple of ideas last week), I would have enough for a themed collection. 

Although I've already published one collection of stories in the Season Avatars world, I'm currently working on another set of stories that would take place after Summon the Seasons. My long-term plans include a (potentially) seven-book sequel series in that world, and this collection would bridge the gap between the two series. 

Writing a short story isn't necessarily quick for me; it can take months for me to revise it to my satisfaction. Juggling multiple projects at different stages requires as much work as a full novel. However, short stories help me improve my craft and allow me to tell stories that wouldn't work at longer length. It can be difficult deciding where to market some stories, but knowing that I can always put them out as eBooks makes me feel that the effort of writing short stories won't be wasted.

Do you write or read short stories? If you write them, do you publish them yourself or submit them to markets? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

ReCONvene 2020

 

 I originally hadn't planned to attend any more virtual conventions this year, but when one of my blogging buddies, Terri Bruce, posted about ReCONvene 2020 (the virtual version of Boskone), I was intrigued by a couple of the panels. (Terri published a short story collection called Souls last month. The cover is pictures, and You can check it out on Amazon at the link.) Since it was only ten bucks to attend the convention, I decided to register. Below is a list of the panels I watched. 

Glimpsing Climate Recovery

The Distant Future in Science Fiction

The AI Amongst Us

Modernizing Fairy Tales and Myths

Exploring the Literary Sandbox of Speculative Fiction

Worldblending in Speculative Fiction

Unfortunately, the con chose not to record the panels, and I didn't take notes. (One good thing about virtual panels is that it's easier to do things like clean, cook, and crochet while you're listening.) I was particularly interested in the Modernizing Fairy Tales and Myths panel, but it didn't go into the details of adapting old tales to new settings as much as I hoped it would. It occurred to me after the panel was over that I could have asked for writing tips in the Q&A, but by then it was too late. 

The panelists (at least, the ones I'd heard of) were mostly traditionally published authors, and all of the panels were well moderated. A couple of the panelists missed panels for technical or other reasons, but on the whole the panels were well run. Obviously a virtual convention lacks many of the charms of an in-person convention, but since this I've never been able to go to Boskone, a virtual convention is better than no convention at all.

Ebook of Ordinary Wonders Available!

Although I don't normally post on Fridays anymore, I have some news that I should have shared a couple of weeks ago. I've published my first short story collection. It's called Ordinary Wonders: A Fantasy Short Story Collection, and it contains eleven short stories. Some of them were independently published, some are reprints from anthologies, and a few of them are completely new. This collection also includes the four short stories from Young Seasons. (I had originally planned to prepare a print version of Young Seasons but decided it was too short.) Here's the full list of stories:

Letters to Psyche         

The Owl and the Spider’s Son  

Silver Rain      

Bugged Out at the Museum      

Caps in Red and Gray  

Blood for Sap, Sap for Blood   

Henry’s Harness          

But Not Today

Last Locomotive from Wistica 

To Name the Anilink   

Jenna’s Rosebush

Currently, this collection is only available as an ebook. I have to go through both KDP and Draft2Digital for the paper version, and it's more difficult than I expected, especially since I decided to experiment and create my own cover. (Sorry, Maria.) I'll post again once I have it figured out. In the meantime, the eBook is available for $2.99, which is a great bargain. Click this link for a list of available retailers.