“The Dwarf’s Legacy” is due out May 12.
I anticipate The Dwarf’s Legacy – the fourth of five books in the series The Day Magic Died – will be available in paperback and Kindle format on May 12.
Really!
Let’s start with the cover, since that’s right here on this blog.
I should not have offered you five cover mockups to vote on. My mistake. None received a majority of the votes. The plainest one received the most votes – six – but the two with the series logo, name and number at the top received a total of seven votes. That’s not clear direction. If I had offered you two or three choices, you would have been equipped to provide solid feedback. I apologize.
So I talked with a marketing consultant. I chatted with my designer. I conferred with my wife.
What I wanted to do was get the logo, series name and book number on the cover. I want to at least hint that this is not so much five stories in one series, as one story in five books.
But the primary purpose of the cover is to grab attention and get people to read the title. (The only exception is for a famous author, whose name is the biggest thing on the cover. I’m not there yet. Let’s not dwell on how far away from that I am, OK?)
In the mockups, the number and logo were so large they distracted from the title. So I made them much smaller. I tried putting them above the title, below the title, and below my name. Each time, the design looked unbalanced, and the series bar seemed to distract from the title.
But a funny thing happened as I moved the series bar. I stopped in the middle. And I smiled.
I think this placement – which I have been able to replicate with each of the titles – draws the reader’s attention to the title first and foremost. So I am happy with the cover, and with the new covers for the other books. I hope you like them too.
Now then, what about the insides? The book itself?
Last Sunday I finished correcting all the mistakes found in proofreading. Monday I sent the manuscript to an avid follower of the series who has not been involved in editing until this point.
Friday she sent me a list of about a dozen areas that needed more attention. None were major, but each was enough to “throw” a reader, so it’s good to have those brought to my attention.
First thing this morning, I went through the book and addressed all those issues. Now my wife will proofread those sections again. I anticipate making the final corrections today.
Then what?
1. Format for paperback: I have to copy and paste the book into a template, then adjust it. This should not be very difficult or take long.
2. Format for Kindle: This is a bit more complex. It’s easy to make an ebook. It takes some effort to make a properly formatted ebook. I write in Word, and if I go straight from Word to Kindle … yuck! I have to convert the Word file to HTML, edit the HTML, convert the HTML file to Mobipocket .prc format, then upload that.
3. Checking and proofing: Amazon’s Createspace division has to check and approve the paperback. Amazon’s Kindle division has to check and approve the ebook. And I need to order a paperback proof, go through it, and approve it for sale.
How long will all that take? I anticipate two weeks, and thus, I expect The Dwarf’s Legacy to be available May 12.
Permit me to again apologize for the delay. I have endeavored to make this a book worth your wait.
In the meantime, watch for updates … and a promotion or two!
by Ian Fallis 
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