Friday, February 22, 2019

An extra help to get you into bookstores (Part 2).


Last time I was talking about the two ways to get published and I gave a hint on how to make possible even for an indie author to have a concrete chance to have their books listed on physical bookstores.
There is the combination Amazon/KDP + IngramSpark that seems to work quite well on that sense.
The open question I wanted to focus the attention was the quality between the two prints and how to solve a couple of barely perceptible difference between the two prints.

1. The tones of the colors.
Since there aren’t two printing machines that give the same results, you need to understand that there will be some differences and, in this case, I have noticed that the colors of the book printed from Amazon are brighter and more vibrant than those in the cover printed by IngramSpark.
Again, the difference is minimal, and you can be happy with the result obtained without the need to change anything. However, if you prefer having the exact same results, keep in mind to brighten the colors for the cover printed by IngramSpark.



The book on the left is the one printed through IngramSpark, the one on the right is the one printed through Amazon.

2. The trim and cover formatting:
Although the trim is the same, there is a substantial difference between the margins suggested by Amazon and those by IngramSpark. The latter prefers keeping the bleed thinner, so you need to calibrate the two covers according to the guidelines so that they will look exactly the same once printed.

3. Inside the books:
Honestly, the quality of the binding is in both cases excellent, and I have nothing to say about. I use the cream color for the pages of the book, because it gives that lovely nostalgic look old books have, so the Amazon version is slightly lighter cream color barely noticeable, and the print is larger, making the book thicker (404 pages in the Amazon version against the 398 of the IngramSpark version).

Once you know in advance about those little differences between the two prints, you can plan the cover accurately so to have two perfectly equal paperbacks. However, considering that those difference do not affect the general quality of the product, you can also decide to ignore them.
Personally, I am not going to make any change in this book, rather I am going to correct those small issues for the next books.

I hope this information was useful, have a great day!
 
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Thursday, February 21, 2019

365: Poetry by Cindy J. Smith at #OurAuthorGang

Poems from the Heart
 
 
This collection was created from my 2017 New Years Resolution. Seeing and hearing various remarks about the new year being "a clean slate" and that "each day is a new page in life write something fresh" inspired me to vow to write a poem everyday. I do write almost everyday so I challenged myself to collect the very first poem, no matter the topic, as the day's offering. No theme was involved, everything was fair game. I wanted to be able to look back and see if perspectives really do change daily. I offer everyone a ride on this poetic rollercoaster, where life changed at the speed of a turned page.
 

 HALF & HALF
Life is a struggle
A balancing act
Find "truths" by mixing
Some fiction with fact
To find happiness
Plod through woe and grief
Use sports and hobbies
For boredom relief
Our friendships keep
Enemies at bay
Work hard to succeed
But make time for play
Appreciate light
Because we know the black
Face sadness knowing
Smiles can bring joy back
Negatives reveal
Positives reward
Balancing the carrot
We all head towards
 

The readers said:
"It has everything love, sadness, sarcasm and humor...there really are so many emotions and I think she touches them all, meaning to or not! What a perfect collection of what is quite possibly her heart and soul. How special are we that she is so willing to share them. "  Kim Page
 
"I can open this book at any time and find new meanings to fit my own situations. This is what Smith does for me, she writes what I can't even express. She gets in my head, and I have made her a place there."  Marsha Thalleen
 
"Not only is 365 an engaging collection of creative art, it reads with the fascination of a diary. Each poem is a window into its day of creation, an intimate vantage point that sweeps you away into the author's world." EIEIOMommy
 
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Wednesday, February 20, 2019

C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis

Christina Weigand




C. S. Lewis; Clive Staples Lewis was born November 29, 1898 to Albert Lewis and Florence Lewis in Belfast, Ireland. He had one brother, Warren (Warnie). He died on November 22, 1963 in Oxford, England.

At four years old, Lewis witnessed, his dog, Jacksie, killed by a car. After having seen that he declared that to honor his dog he would only answer to the name Jacksie, which he later agreed to shorten to Jack. To his friends and family he became Jack for the remainder of his life.

As a youngster he was schooled by private tutors until the age of nine which coincided with his mother’s death from cancer. He was then sent to board and study at Wynyard School in Watford Hertfordshire where his brother was already enrolled. When the school closed shortly afterwards he attended Campbell College in Belfast until he had to quit due to respiratory problems. He was sent to a health resort town, Malvern Worchestershire, and studied at Cherbourg House, a preparatory school. It was here that he abandoned his childhood faith and became an atheist, interested in mythology and the occult. Later he attended Malvern College for a short time and then studied with his father’s old tutor.

Throughout his teen years he was fascinated with Icelandic sagas. His love for nature grew and its beauty reminded him of stories of the North. As a young teen he and his brother wrote together and created the world of Boxen, inhabited and run by animals.


Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young

 With growing older, he moved away from Boxen and wrote epic poetry and opera to try and capture his fascination with Norse mythology.
Lewis was awarded a scholarship for University College, Oxford and within months of registering the British Army shipped him to France to fight in WWI. Several months later he was wounded and two colleagues were killed. He suffered depression and homesickness. Upon his recovery he was assigned to duty in Andover, England and later demobilized. Then he restarted his education.

After he returned from the war and received numerous honors he became a philosophy tutor at University College and later was elected a fellow and tutor at Magdalen College, where he served for 29 years. Eventually he returned to Christianity with the influences of J. R. R. Tolkien.

At the start of WWII he and his brother Warnie, took in child evacuees from London and other cities into his home, the Kilns as it was called. It was theorized that this is where he came up with the idea for The Narnia Series along with his childhood home, Little Lea. He tried to reenlist but was refused. During the war he spoke on religious programmes broadcast by BBC from London. Later these broadcasts were anthologized in Mere Christianity.

After the war Lewis accepted the chair of Mediaevel and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge and remained there until his death. During this time he along with a circle of literary friends, that included J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield along with his brother, Warren started the Inklings.

In his later life he met and married Joy Davidman Gresham, an American writer. She divorced her alcoholic husband and moved to England with her two sons. When she passed away from cancer in 1960 he continued to raise her sons.

Besides writing the Narnia fantasies he also wrote Space Trilogy, science fiction for adults. His non-fiction featured such works as Mere Christianity and Miracles. He wrote more than 300 books that have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. Some of his fiction have been seen on stage, TV, radio and cinema. His philosophical works have been cited by many Christian apologists.


 Space Trilogy, science fiction for adults.
 The Narnia Series


 Mere Christianity
 Miracles


C. S. Lewis, a multi-talented gentleman has left us a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire people for ages to come.


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Tuesday, February 19, 2019

It's all About Books at #OurAuthorGang

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That's what it's all about.
Click on the genre you like and check out the books we proudly promote.
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