Time Management

Today’s post is about my nemesis, Time Management. I’m learning more and more how important it is to have a schedule, and that I need to stay on it. Thursday, I sat down and wrote out a new schedule for household duties and writing assignments. This time, I am going to do my best to follow the list and try to cut down on wasted time.

One of my problems is that I don’t look at my writing as a true occupation. I don’t devote enough time to actually sit down and focus on writing; that can be hard to do when you are also running a household. I may be up and down doing tasks like laundry, supper, or playing with the dogs, during my writing time.

Do any of us really treat our writing as a occupation?  Do we just write when we can, putting it to the back burner more than we should. Friday night, we, at Christian Indie Authors had our normal meeting; it starts at 9 p.m. Eastern in the chat room.  Author Pastor George took some great notes on time management, if you'd like to take a peek here they are.

Back on topic, this week we talked about Time Management, and we even started a thread in the forums for members to post new goals they were setting. It’s our job as friends and co-writers to also do the same, and check in and see how others are doing.

I really hope to change the way I look at writing. Sure, chores will need to be done, but instead of doing them while I’m writing, I will be setting time aside to write. I will be doing the chores in the morning and, since I like to write in the evenings, will try to get everything done on my list for the day so I have my mind and thoughts free to work on my job: That job is being an author.  Though at the moment this new job of mine is not paying many bills, it is starting to add to the money I have to spend on groceries. If I start following my schedule and start treating writing more like a business than just a fun past time, maybe things will get even better.

I know we all have different goals, and one of mine is to be able to make a living as being an Author. But, if I don’t treat my occupation as just that, (my occupation) I don’t think I will get much further than I am now. That said, for me, it’s time for a change, and that change may start with baby steps, but it will start and grow and my schedule will become second nature after a while.

The schedule is written, the plan is laid out. Now all I have to do is follow it. What are your plans?  Are you like me just doing things when you think about it?  Maybe it’s time for you to write out a schedule or maybe you’re on one that’s really working and would like to share some thoughts.
I don’t normally ask for comments but today I’m going to. Are you on a schedule, do you have a plan that works, or are you just happy with writing be a fun past time?  Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say.

Till next time
Happy Writing
Samantha Fury

Making a book cover lesson four: Buying a bookcover

Lesson four Making a book cover: buying your book cover with guest Mary Campagna Findley

Today we are moving back to book covers, and the next few blogs will be about those folks that want to buy book covers rather than make them. Making a book cover can take a lot of time, and if you don't know what you're doing there can be a large learning curve that you will have to contend with. You may think your time is better spent in writing or taking family outings or marketing your new novel.

If you are a self-published author you can always buy your own cover. That is one of the great things, and the downfalls, about being an Indie. You don't have someone telling you what kind of cover you have to make, or you don't have someone doing the hard work of picking out your book cover for you.

I spoke with a friend of mine this week who makes covers. Mary told me that when she is making a cover for someone she wants the author to know that they are the boss, and whatever inspiration she has, the author can always say,. "Nope. I want this instead." Mary always wants to know what's most important to the author about the story, what the author thinks will make people pick it up and read the book she's making the cover for.

You can see a few covers below and even more covers, and learn more about Mary's work here. I'd like to thank Mary for her time today. She does great work so be sure and contact her if you like her covers.
Mary has been making covers about 5-6 years for her own books, about a year for others. Ebooks prices range between 30 and 50 dollars, print books with banner (digital and printable), ebook cover and bookmark between $100 and $150 but her rates can be negotiable depending on ability.

Each of us must think about our book cover as being our novel in a quick picture. When we can, we need to bring out some aspects of the story in our cover. Readers need to know everything possible. Is your novel a Romance or is it Steampunk? Does a murder take place in your novel? Is someone shot or stabbed? Maybe a gun or a knife would be a great addition. The options and ideas can seem endless.

We want to get the attention of the reader but we don't want to mislead them about what's inside the book. Making a cover is so important, so it's best not to just jump in and throw something together. Study other covers that are in your genre, and give the person making your cover everything you can think of that will help them build you the best cover possible.

There are some sites, that also offer ready-made covers. We'll talk about a few of them later on in the week. Thanks for dropping by.

Samantha Fury
Author of the Street Justice Series
More lessons in this series
Lesson one Making a book cover with create space
Lesson two Making a book cover general helpful ideas
Lesson three Making a book cover with a create space template
Lesson four Making a book cover buying your book cover with guest Mary Campagna Findley

Indie Authors on Google Hangout

Hey Authors! I'm a part of a great new informative show called Indie Authors. It's on the new, very cool, Google Hangout Network. Each week we record a show, on Monday. We are up to show eight.

The shows are packed with information from Indie Authors. Some that have been on the Indie Trail for a couple of years now, and some fresh off the press. That way you get to see this process from many angles.

The show varies from week to week on what we discuss and suggestions are always welcome. Each panel member will be asked a question by our great host Jason Matthews, or co host AC Cruz, and they will, along with other panel members, give us their take on a given subject. I truly think this is a new wave of broadcasting that could possibility one day be picked up by some cable companies.

Here is a shot from one of our shows.


The information is free, informative, and I myself learn something new and creative every week. Tonight's show will be about marketing. We'll talk about marketing locally, and also about marketing online. The show always lasts about an hour, and it's so much fun. I think it would be good homework for any Indie author, to take time out of your busy day to watch the show.

If you want read more about the show check here to watch some past shows check them out here . Panel guest and information here.

If you like the show please like and share on the U tube link.

The show is still new and growing, for more up to date information go here. To be a guest on the show contact our host. Jason Matthews

Thanks for watching
Samantha Fury

Allergies & Writing

You may say what. Has Samantha lost her mind. What could Allergies and Writing possibly have in common. Well, to be honest, they may not have a lot in common but they both have plagued me this week. So I'm telling you all about.

First of all, they both can hit you at a moments notice. You're not expecting this visit either from your muse or your Allergy Fairy. You may be standing in a line waiting to pay a bill or buy stamps and something happens that triggers a sneeze or a story idea.

What do you do? Grab a tissue if it's the sneeze, but if its a story idea you try to hold it off until you can find a pen and something to jot some notes on. But the story is coming fast and you're getting the first few lines and there's nothing to write on!

You look to your right and then left, but everywhere you look there is no paper. You have a pen in your purse, or maybe you'll steal the postmasters pen. As you're searching the story line is growing, and you're frantic that if you can't hurry and write some of this down it will be gone forever.

Isn't it strange how the muse works. It wants what it wants, where it wants. So always have a pen and paper, or a mp3 recorder, or in my case all of the above and some allergy medicine, hidden away in your coat pocket.

I hated to let you guys go without a new blog, for this Monday, and though this isn't much. It may save you a trip to the doctor or gain you, that next bestseller.

Happy Writing
Samantha

Microsoft Word Page Formatting

Hi friends,

I'm going to veer away from covers for today. I've been asked many times. How many chapters does x amount of words equal. Well every good Author needs to know as much as possible about Word, or whatever software you may use. I always know what chapter I'm on, what page I'm on and do an brief chapter outline so I don't go overboard when writing a novel. 

 An author needs to know how many words, or chapters that they are shooting for. In Romance and Mystery it seems to be 85 to 97 thousand words. Most of the time for me that equals out being about 53 chapters or up.

 I like short quick chapters with a zinger at the end of each chapter to leave the reader wanting more. Also short chapters are very helpful, in giving today's busy reader, jumping off points. 

 It also helps them feel as if they are reading a lot and getting something accomplished if they can go away from their e-reader feeling as if they've read several chapters. It may even make them want to buy your next book, if they feel it was an easy read. So onto the point of knowing how many words equals a chapter. I format my paperbacks 6 x 9. I always have word set up to reflect this. This seems to work well for paperback and my e-books. 

Why go with a 6 X 9

I seem to find that the standard book size is six inches wide and nine inches tall 6 X 9. I've read that your book will probably be cheaper to print, easier to read, and easier to sell if going with the 6 X 9. One reason because it will fit on most bookstore shelves.

Larger books can be harder to hold, carry, or put on a shelf.

The cover of a 6 x9 book is larger than a 5.5 x 8.5 book. The cover is your advertising space so you want the best available book size.

I've printed two books with this format and it seems to work well. Go to file and page-set up and use these settings below for a 6 x 9 paperback novel.

Here are some images to help you set your M-Word so you know how many chapters you have and at what page you are on in your current Novel.

First set your Margins.

 

Then your paper size. This will be the size of your book if you chose a 6 x 9 paperback.

 

Lay Out Paper Source

Now you will need to add page numbers. Go to Insert and down to page numbers and chose your settings.

I hope that this helps you. It's always good to get a proof with every book to make sure that everything is aligned correctly and that your cover looks well. In this instance with word you can use the percentage tab to make sure things look just as you wish them too.

I hope this helps!!! Samantha come back Monday to learn something new and exciting to help you be a better Author.

Making a Cover Lesson 3

This is an old post and I'm making better covers now and selling them too if you need a cover contact me here or want to learn more join one of our groups. 

Hey there. We are going to talk today about making your own e-book cover. Most of the time for my e-books I start one side of my Create Space paperback template. A friend of mine suggested, also try and get high resolution images, rather than getting images that fit and are at a lower resolution.

Finding the perfect image can be the hardest step in making a cover. Especially if you are going to use more than one image.

I always suggest to purchase your images for book covers. I don't mind using free images for book trailers and websites, but for covers, even e-book covers I always purchase my images. Be sure and go with a reputable site so you can feel safe, that the model-release is in order. I normally buy from iStockphoto, BIGSTOCK, or Dreamstine. and now Depositphoto  They are the three best in my opinion.

Most of the time you can down load a free image, and see if you think it will work on your cover. There will be a logo on the picture, until you purchase the image. Sometimes it's hard to get a good grasp of what the cover will look like with the logo, but do the best you can. Always remember this is a business and you need to stay within your budget.

For e-books dimensions and more detailed information go to Amazon's Guide
Amazon's Guide begins by saying . . .
Dimensions for the size of your cover art:
Minimum of 1000 pixels on the longest side
Ideal height/with ratio of 1.6
Jpeg, or .jpeg
Tiff, or .tif(f)For better quality, we recommend that images be 2500 pixels on the longest side. (I think these have changed now in 2014 please check Amazon's Guide)

When you are ready to start, open your software, and if you have a Create Space template, find where you have saved your template then open that file. It will look like this below. I am using a free trial from adobe, check it out here. You won't need the whole template if you are only making an e-book.


Next pick an image. You open the two or three files you want, and drag them both onto the template file, it will look like this. We will be using the right side of the cover only since we are only talking about e-book covers. I have chosen three photo's at random. The first picture will be our first layer, the blue sky with the tree. Also when making an e-book cover only, the bleed area is not important. When we are done we will hide or delete the template and save the image to our computer.

Now you select the first layer, then drag in into the cover, and once you have stretched it to the size of the cover you chose select again. This is where the pixels come into play. The smaller you go the more distortion you get, and the less quality you have, but with e-books I find you can go pretty low and still have a nice picture. Check your amazon guide line to chose the correct size of your picture.

I have cut out the second layer by using the round marquee tab. I will now pull this layer over and place it in the spot I wish, this will be layer two. The picture of the guy will be layer three. Name and title layers four and five.

Now, I will add the title and my name, and for a shadowy effect I will add two layers of each of the pictures of the man and woman. I have taken the opacity down on both of the first images of the man and woman and saved them. Then I added a second layer with a 100 percent opacity, of each of them and saved the image once again.
I know this is a fast lesson, and I hope to do this again with some video sometime. The best way to learn, is to start using your software, and learning all you can about layers. They can really make a cover look a lot better. Once you are done you go back to your layer tabs and hide or delete the layers you don't want. Then you save your image.
When you are done you get a nice looking image. I didn't do much with making sure lines were perfect and the font was just right. This was just a quick example of what you can do when a few nice pictures, and some very handy software.

Below is a look at my first book cover. I have five layers of Angel to get him just the way I wanted, with his arms crossed and that shadowy look behind him. I think when all was said and done there was about ten layers of Charlie (the redhead) and those red curls. But you would never know by looking. Thanks for joining me and check back with us Monday to our next lesson on layers.
Samantha Fury

Making a cover lesson 2

I hope that everyone had a good weekend, and that you are rested and ready to work. My back decided to go out Saturday, which it does now and then so this post may be brief. There are so many things you can learn to do, in order to make a great book cover, and I'm learning myself as I watch more u tube videos and read more blogs.

So lets start with software. I know you're like me you want to jump in and make a cover but we need to talk about the tools of the business first. Some are free, some are complicated and some are very expensive. An author needs to wear many hats, and one of them is book keeper, and time manger.

You need to decide. Is it worth it to make my own covers. Do I want to spend the time necessary to do this, or would I rather be writing or spending time with my kids, or dogs. :) Do I have the time that it takes to make a good cover or should I just buy one. There are many nice places to buy covers and later. we'll spend some time on that topic.

The next question that the bookkeeper in us all needs to ask, is what can I afford. Am I making enough money from my books to buy software at this time? Maybe you already have software, if not, try looking for something free. Once you find out if you have the ability to make good covers, then you can decide how much money to spend.

I was blessed to have adobe Photoshop elements 2.0, (we got it with a camera we purchased years ago) it did everything I needed, until I did an upgrade and lost XP. Now I'm using three different kinds of software. I still have PS elements 2.0 but with 7, I have to use it in compatibility mode, and it's just not the same. I'm trying, with the free trial, Adobe Photo Shop 13. beta and Pixlr.

Pixlr is an online free service that allows you to set up an account and save your work online, or to your computer. It's a lot like adobe photo shop and I like it, but I prefer software to be on my computer, where I can feel a bit more safe, that no one can see, or steal my work. I'm loving the free trial of PS 13 from adobe, and more than likely will purchase this.

I do enjoy making my own covers, but may purchase a few, here and there, when I don't have the time to do the work myself. As Mr. Eastwood said in the movie, Magnum Force, 'A man needs to know his limitations.' Well we authors need to know ours also. So if you are not good at something, find someone that is.

If you don't like to, or can't figure out how to make a good cover, then check your budget and find out how much you can spend on a cover. It maybe that you don't want to spend the time learning, to make a cover. Making a good cover, can take time. I've been known to spend as much as two months searching for the right picture.

So I'm going to bring this little blog to a close, and I hope you will check out the Adobe Free trial. here If you have any questions please post them and we'll try to get to them asap. For now until my back gets back to normal I'll be blogging twice a week. Monday and Thursday.

Thanks for joining us today. Our next lesson will be on making a cover and we will try to touch on layers. Be sure and check out my book covers below.

Samantha Fury
Author of Street Justice Series
Book 1 Charlie's Angel
Book 2 Tidal WAve