6 - Easter, and front and back matter
This post should take about 3 minutes to read through.
The previous week, I took a break to celebrate Easter, so I'm jumping into it this week. I have done zero proofreading this week. However, I have done almost everything else needed for the publication of the book.
First of all, in my effort to regain control of my book formatting, I have spent a few hours fiddling around Scrivener's ebook creation. It's not easy, and I definitely do not suggest it for new authors. However, if you have a couple of books under your belt and you're eager to gain control of how your book actually appears, it's… well, it's still quite complex. If you're willing to spend the time to learn how it works, though, it'll be a very useful tool. The main alternative for me was Kindle Create, which is great for new writers, but offers zero actual control for more experienced ones, making all of your books appear kind of samey.
Right now, I know enough to make the book appear as I want it through Scrivener. I'll try out some new things in this one, and more new things in my future books. I hope you like it!
Additionally, I completed the front and back matter. After the last couple of days of work, my book now has a title page, a copyright page, an "other books in the series" page, a preface which I wrote when I finished the first draft and updated now, an acknowledgements page, and a dedication, all of which are common front matter elements. Additionally, I wrote a summary of the first book, The First Mage, for returning readers (it's been four years since it was published) and also included Emily's character sheet from the end of the first book.
As for the back matter, it now has the common elements of a thank you note and an author bio. Additionally, I wrote a glossary of world-specific terms, fauna, and flora, a character list of the main characters for the reader's quick reference, and Emily's character sheet from the end of this book.
All of the above appear in the table of contents as well, which is automatically generated, and can be accessed easily in your ebook reader of choice. They'll be present in the physical book, as well.
So, to sum up: this week I've finished almost everything required to publish the book except the final proofread of the book and the blurb.
Mages' Guild book 2: in final proofread, about 28% in; all secondary formatting and structural elements finished. (updated)
Bright Fantasy LitRPG one-off (working title): next in line to be written.
Mages' Guild book 3: outline still brewing.
Monolith LitRPG series or one-off (working title): at pre-outline stage.
Fantasy Sci-Fi LitRPG series (working title): at pre-outline stage.
Dark Fantasy one-off (non-LitRPG, working title): at the pre-outline stage.
Dark Fantasy LitRPG series (working title): also at the pre-outline stage.
I'll be getting back into the swing of things after the next week. I celebrated Easter at the Catholic dates for myself, and will be celebrating at the Orthodox dates with my family, so expect a new post sometime next week.
As always, you can learn more about my process in my process page, here and the writing software I use in this blogpost.
Thank you for taking the time to read this regular update. My social links and public emails are available here if you want to talk to me directly.