RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted July 27, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2011 That's a really love drawing, just out of interest who did it? Because it's really good, does he have his own website? Regards, Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 That's a really love drawing, just out of interest who did it? Because it's really good, does he have his own website? Regards, Nick Hi Nick, He does indeed, his name is Dean Walker, and he is amazingly talented. Very lucky to have found him, I've commissioned him to illustrate the whole book. Here's his website: NER Ramblings Here's one more pic, for good measure It's a work in progress, but I think the perspective and overall look is terrific. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Colin_McLeod Posted July 28, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 28, 2011 Good luck. I'm sure one of the publishers will run with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 Just to add chaps, the publisher has got back in contact with me - family issues have got in the way (totally understandable). He loves the artwork - and has promised to get back in touch in a few months when everything has settled down. It's not a yes - but it is significantly not a "no" either. I get the feeling, if he was not interested, he would have told me straight off, so I am going to keep on editing and writing behind scenes; Dean will keep drawing, and hopefully when he is ready to talk with us again, we'll have a more polished draft to show him. I have started working on a full business plan too, which includes a new website (work in progress), alterations to the Youtube channel and new videos to match (animated). Just want to thank everyone for their support, and hopefully by the end of the year, we'll have something more tangible to talk about Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hi Chaps, Just a quick question - not sure if anyone has dabbled in it, but if they have I need some advice. eBooks - I've been advised this is a growing children's market, and recently had an approach from a company to produce a volume from The British Railway Series for their popular eBook device. Is it worth doing an eBook ahead of a physical copy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Endacott Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 If you have the offer of payment for an eBook edition, but do not have a publisher who wants to produce hard copies, take the money. Geoff Endacott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted September 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 29, 2011 Take the money but do not give anything away like exclusivity Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted September 29, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 29, 2011 Contact Ian J (of this parish). He's been converting his Sci-Fi books to the Kindle version - he may have some advice. Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted September 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 29, 2011 ebooks are a market that is only going to grow, go for it. When you start getting sales you can use this as a driver to get the physical book printed and you never know, if the ebook sales have been good you might get publishers coming to you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thanks chaps for your responses, I'll try and contact Ian with a few questions. That sounds pretty much positive then, I made it clear that exclusivity rights were not going to happen from the outset, and it still seems positive so will work on now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 As a published author and illustrator, I know how hard it is to begin. Well done so far. No advice (other than get an agent if you can) and blanket mail suitable publishers here and overseas with your proposals. The larger publishers may have several hundred approaches per day and will be looking for a reason to throw yours in the bin. The very best of good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted October 2, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 2, 2011 Have been offline due to Virgin Media failing yet again (time for a new ISP now, this has gone beyond a joke with how long they take to fix their own equipment failures!) Anyhoo, yes, have recently converted my novels to Kindle format. The graphical capabilities aren't that great, as images can only be greyscale (and only 16 shades at that) so the Kindle is best suited to predominantly text based books, like novels. Apart from that, as far as I can tell the device only supports a couple of fonts (one serif, one sans-serif). I currently have a question outstanding with Amazon regarding the precise font support. There are hacks to get more fonts on, but obviously as it is a tightly controlled hardware/software spec then Amazon could pull hacked devices/books without warning. The format is a fairly straightforward HTML/CSS based markup, Word is often used to write up a book and convert it, but there are some anomalies in the way that Word arranges the HTML tags for saving in those formats that can cause the Kindle to get a bit confused over how to lay things out, so a fair bit of tidying up needs doing to get a clean file for conversion to the final Kindle format. Beyond that, to be able to publish to Kindle you need to join the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) program, if publishing it yourself. If you are going to have a print publisher, then I'd advise working with your publisher to get ebook versions of your books out as they should have mechanisms already in place to do them. If you go ahead and produce ebooks on your own, you may find the publisher less happy to take you on. As for income, with the KDP program the Kindle books can go to three major markets simultaneously - US, UK, and Europe. Income from UK and Europe is pretty simple to tie to a UK bank account, however there are issues with US sales as they cannot be electronically paid to non-US bank accounts, so you either need to have a US banking system account (not just a non-US account in US dollars!), or have to take payment by paper cheque (or 'check' as it's referred to on the KDP site). Paper cheques from the US can take anything up to three months to get through the system, due to delays that Amazon themselves apply to the payment, and conversions within and between the banking systems involved. There are also charges that eat in to (though I don't know the full extent of those at the moment). Also, US tax laws/rules need to be considered as their IRS (Internal Revenue Service) will still see US sales as being due tax as will the UK's HMR&C, and that effectively means there's the potential to be taxed twice. I haven't fully resolved that issue myself yet so cannot comment on the best way to deal with the two authorities. I'm not entirely sure they quite know how to deal with this 'new' way of publishing either, so they will attempt to get the biggest slice of income they can until a straightforward set of rules emerges from the randomness. Any more questions re Kindle/KDP, feel free to ask, I will do my best to answer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Hi Ian, just to say a big thank you for all of the above - I have copied it all down and am going to work out a plan of action with my artist for the book in terms of e-publishing. I am thinking more and more that I should take the Christopher Vine route and self publish my books. I have had some very good advice regarding self publishing from members of this forum before, if anyone has anything to add I'd be very grateful to hear it out. More and more I feel the potential for this to work, and do that which is always overlooked; the history of Britain's railways, and make them more accessible to children through the medium of talking trains. At the same time, if I can make through the sale of each book, a monetary donation to a good cause in railway preservation - then that too, is an aim worth working towards. To tell the story of our railways, our preserved railways, and give something back in the same breath. There is nothing that would please me more, than to sell a book in the series relating the history of a preserved railway, and the volunteers which run it, that would encourage children to look said railway up and gain an interest in their local preserved line, as well as the book financially supporting the railway in question. If it has to be done with faces on engines - so be it, because it is a tried and tested way of bringing more emotional connections between children, and the iron horses they read about. My aim is to educate and entertain in the same stroke of the pen. To highlight railway history and to tell it in a way that children will both understand and appreciate for what it is. I only need glance at my inbox this morning to see that I must be doing something right. Emails galore, another forty on top of the hundred and thirty six emails I still need to get through, from young fans who've seen the videos on Youtube, to parents who've seen the videos through their children, and the associated blog and website. The overwhelming positivity I get for writing my stories far outstrips the one or two people who, from time to time, feel the need to voice their negativity with friends of mine. I've come this far, and not given up, and I have no intention of giving up any time soon. It's just a shame that despite the constant sending out to agents and publishers, I can find no one willing to even hear me out further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted October 7, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2011 The main thing I have found with self-publishing is keeping my confidence levels up during the long periods while I'm not making any headway. You already have some interest in your work, so hopefully you wouldn't have the same start position as me, but do realise that even the best of authors who have been traditionally published can find the self-publishing route a daunting one. Will S-P become the way that most authors start out in the future? Possibly, but I don't think anyone knows for sure. The principle reason for going the traditional route is to do with 'who you know' not 'what you know' - the agent-editor-publisher network is often what gets books noticed, not the book itself unfortunately, and without that network it can be difficult to get the publicity that readers need to fee confident that a new author is worthwhile reading. As for me, I'm sticking with S-P because it gives me control of the look and feel of my books, something that publishers and booksellers like to take away from the author. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks Ian for your input, it really is greatly appreciated by me. I have set up my Kindle Direct Publishing account, will investigate further as Dean and I get closer to finishing the artwork. There's both a colour version and the normal grey scale version of the Kindle to be made available (Kindle Fire is the colour one, I believe), so my first thought is that I need to have both a colour and a grey scale version of the book to make it look its best and work on the Kindle. Will definitely need to create a new book cover. On a different note, Dean has passed on more completed pieces of art - here's one I'm particularly delighted with, it shows a montage of different portions of railway work. As always, Dean's artwork is amazing. EDIT: and as a direct comparison, the black & white version: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Simon, Don't know if this has already been mentioned, but have you tried out the book on children who you are aiming it at? Why not approach the headteacher at your local primary school and explain what you're hoping to achieve. They might let you (under supervision) read the book/s to small groups of children and get feedback. As others have said, I'd be inclined to pitch the book at KS1 children (ie infants) and those in Yr 3. Regards and best wishes with the project, Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Simon, Don't know if this has already been mentioned, but have you tried out the book on children who you are aiming it at? Why not approach the headteacher at your local primary school and explain what you're hoping to achieve. They might let you (under supervision) read the book/s to small groups of children and get feedback. As others have said, I'd be inclined to pitch the book at KS1 children (ie infants) and those in Yr 3. Regards and best wishes with the project, Peter Hi Peter, I have had a lovely test audience for many years consisting of those in the 5-11 bracket. I can't say who they are (part of the agreement) but they have helped dividends developing the Youtube series and most definitely this book. Thanks for your support, hopefully I can produce something of merit! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Morning all, Just to update on my current conundrum: I am going down the self publishing route. I am preparing one version of the book for the Kindle, with grayscale and colour versions for both Kindle and Kindle Fire, and will be looking to make up a small batch of hardback and paperbook copies of the book to sell on my in development home website. The question I now have to pose is a matter of content, quality, and pricing structure. Examining more fully the other self published works on the Kindle which are available, I have concluded that while the overall quality may be similar to a printed copy, the content rarely is. In that respect, I am thinking along the lines of: 1. The two e-book versions for the kindle will contain the main stories and nothing else. 2. The physical copies (paperback and hardback) should contain an extra section, touching on the locomotive characters real history and explaining any technical terms (limited in number) for the parents and children. This will mean I can sell the e-book at a lower price and justifiably price the limited number of physical copies slightly higher to offset the reduced cost of the e-book (which I feel as a result of its reduced content should be priced accordingly lower than the norm for a book of a similar size). Having explained this plan to the printing services I have been in contact with, the general consensus was to buy a first small batch of X number of copies in paperback for £4 a piece and price them at £6.99, while buying Y number of hardback copies in a smaller quantity at £12 a piece and price them at £17.99. I would sign each and every copy in the first batch. The e-books would cost £2.99 and £3.50 for the grayscale and full colour versions. So the current pricing at it stands: 1. e-book - Grayscale - £2.99 2. e-book - Full Colour - £3.50 3. Paperback - £6.99 4. Hardback - £17.99 I fear that by pricing the hardback so much higher than the rest, in order to recoup the total costs in delivery and packaging, it may put off buyers by what I feel looks like a premium price for a professionally published book as opposed a short, self published story by an amateur writer. What is even more frightening is that examining a similar venture, the Peter's Railway series of books, the pricing is £11.99 for a hardback book and £2.99 for a paperback. Having not very much capital to spend on a larger batch of books (which would adjust the economies of scale and thus make the cost to make each unit smaller, bringing the price down per unit as a result), I fear I may not be able to buy the books in sufficient enough quantities to 1) sell them at what I would consider a reasonable price and 2) sell out the whole first batch. So my underlying writing conundrum continues...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 The illustrations are fantastic, I really hope this works out for you. How big are the books? Pages, physical dimensions? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 The illustrations are fantastic, I really hope this works out for you. How big are the books? Pages, physical dimensions? It is currently working out as a 50 page book (just the stories) with 35 illustrations (with captions). The physical dimensions I can't say as yet for the physical copies because I'm still in discussions as to the best course of action. I was somewhat surprised that the physical size of the book affects the overall price to manufacture less than the ink used to make the full colour version. Dean's artwork is just sensational. Because of the work we've put into this, I decided from the outset to go 60/40 for this first book, after tax, with Dean (the industry rate is 85/15 apparently, writer to artist). We're both working very hard at part time jobs after leaving college/university and I feel if I can do more to help push his obvious talent, both in a PR sense and in a financial manner, then I'm doing the right thing and helping a friend at the same time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Will you be making your book available on Kindle as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I really hope it all works out for you. I would love a hardback copy once they are available. Its nice to see something that is accessible to both adults and children alike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Will you be making your book available on Kindle as well? Just to update on my current conundrum: I am going down the self publishing route. I am preparing one version of the book for the Kindle, with grayscale and colour versions for both Kindle and Kindle Fire, and will be looking to make up a small batch of hardback and paperbook copies of the book to sell on my in development home website. In short, yes I really hope it all works out for you. I would love a hardback copy once they are available. Its nice to see something that is accessible to both adults and children alike. Thank you very much. It's been a long four years in the making (!), two publishers who've led me up the garden path in many ways, and lots of setbacks in various ways but hopefully, it is all starting to come together finally. Next thing to do is approach Andy Y and start paying my way on this site - he's let me advertise the series in my signature for four years, time to start giving back to the RMweb community in general. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted November 2, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 2, 2011 Simon This all sounds very positive. One thing you may be aware of but haven't explicitly mentioned so I hope you won't mind me saying it is that don't forget the Kindle platform covers much more than just Kindle devices. For example many people will use the Kindle app on an Ipad (I use it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab) - the Kindle Fire (which is pretty much a full blown tablet by the sound of it) will be in a similar position. One other point, I love buying e-books but I am in my mid-30s. I wonder how much access to e-books young kids will have...I am sure they will increasingly. Good luck Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted November 2, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 2, 2011 Go with more paperbacks and leave the Hardbacks until you are sure you can sell enough of them profitably at a lower price would be my suggestion FWIW Doing the book on kindle costs time and effort the physical books cost cash and selling books isn't what you do really you are a writer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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