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| P. J. Erickson |
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  Over our heads by James Sinclair
Unraveling the boggled mind. I read the other reviews of this book and it appears to me that the reviewers had a strong knowledge of math and science. I don’t think this book is intended for them. I have a background sadly lacking in either subject and although fascinated, I just can’t wrap my mind around those television shows about the universe. The idea of something without an end doesn’t compute in my brain. I’m the reader James Sinclair intended to reach with this book. His simplified description of everything from the atom to the big bang, progressing from smallest to largest, is peppered with explanations relating to everyday life so that a nonscientific mind can put the subject into context and say, “Oh yeah, now I get it.” I did get it. Thank you James Sinclair.   One of my favorite things is reading a good book and I sneak the time to do so whenever possible. I don't usually read romance but I like to broaden my horizons once in a while. It's good to see what others are doing. So with that in mind, I chose Bound by the Summer Prince by Mistral Dawn. First, let me say that I did not read the book description extension before purchasing this book, and as I said, I am not a fan of romance/erotica. I do like to read fantasy and Ms. Dawn expertly painted a vivid picture of the land of Fae. The story line revolves around the growing bond between a human who accidentally finds herself in Fae, and an elf, soon to become king. I enjoyed this book, but would have liked it a lot more without so many scenes of explicit sex. I felt the plot could have moved a little faster and contain more action and I would have liked to see more depth and emotion layered into the characters. Perhaps that is a hallmark of the genre. That being said, fans of fantasy/erotica will love this book.
 As we move down the list, excitement builds. You've finished your book, polished it, what's next? Well, now it's time to make it look like a book. You can design and format your book yourself, but easy it's not, and time-consuming it is. However, the satisfaction you gain with the finished product can be immense. Your book can hold up with the best of them and you did it yourself. If you look at it with the eye of a perfectionist, no one will know it's not been professionally typeset. Take a look at books you own. What's in the front matter, the back matter? How do the pages line up? Do the chapters start on new pages? How far down the page? You'll need to take the time for a learning curve, and as always, you can find plenty of help online.
For purposes of this article I am referring to books written using MS Word. Yes, you can typeset in Word, but as I said it's a nitpicky time-consuming job so take out your patience and polish it. There are many things to consider aside from the obvious ones such as book size. Obviously I'm talking about print books here. How do you get each page to have the same number of lines ending up level with each other? You need to learn how to use headers and footers, drop caps and the big one, eliminating too much white space in individual lines. Learn how to use Word's styles. That will save you a lot of time. Check the available online publishers like Createspace for tips and tricks. Once you master the art of typesetting you can create your own template and each successive job will become easier and faster. Of course, by then you might have reached best seller status and have no need to ever do it again. I hope so. Good luck.  Following my train of thought from my last post, let's look at the first couple of items on the list - writing and editing. If you're a newbie, do you know how to structure a novel? Did you do your research for the content? So you've spent however long in your own private world putting out that first draft of your novel and loving every minute. Now what? Well, this might seem obnoxiously basic but, on the other hand, you might be so excited to finish you forget all about it. CREATE AT LEAST ONE BACKUP. Computer crashes happen when least expected, or theft, or fire, whatever, please don't lose all that work.
Remember, these posts are for authors who, through lack of funds, or for whatever other reason, have to do it all. Perhaps you have advanced degrees or a career in writing where you learned the ropes, but for those who weren't so lucky, here is the first sticking point. You might dive right in to a rewrite, but let's say you're fairly satisfied with your manuscript. Now it's time to tidy it up. Editors are expensive, they're out of the question at the moment. You already did a spellcheck and grammar correction in Word or whatever program you are using, but your book is still not in any shape to be shown to anyone. Help is available out there. You need some editing software, either online or a stand-alone program. This might involve a little expense but certainly a lot less than an editor at this stage and you will be amazed how much your writing can improve by using one of these programs. These programs can point out: - how many adverbs you used - how many words and phrases you repeated - how many clichés you used - how much of your writing is "show" vs. "tell" and much more. So, okay. You've wrung your masterpiece through the wringer and come out the other end much improved, but this is just error editing. How about content editing? Now it's time to find out if there are any holes in your plot, mistimed scenes or glaring omissions. This too can be done for free or at a small cost by judicious use of the internet communities. You need some beta readers and they are everywhere. Do a Google search for readers, find a site you trust and you're almost ready to go. Before sending out your book, prepare a questionnaire to go with it and include any question you want answered about your story, such as: - is my dialogue believable? - is it boring? - are there any parts you skipped? - do I over inform? These readers are invaluable, be sure to thank them. Make your corrections from the advice they offer and then re-edit. These are only a couple of suggestions. Make sure your work is the best that it can be before proceeding to the next step. See you next time.
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AuthorIndie author, member of the National Writers Association Archives
January 2016
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