Spreading the Word

 

Writing a book is a lot like weaving a cloth.  There are tons of things that must happen long before anyone can see the vision you have in your mind.

For me, getting the cover made seems to bring the project slightly more into the realm of reality.  Finally something to really grab hold of, an indication that more is to come.  That behind that cover is...a book.  It is also the personal identity of that book, the face that the public sees.

It's like a door - a portal into a new reality.

Magic in the Water was my first experience in publishing a book and because it was going to have actual cloth samples I chose to have a 3-ring binder.  The binders were ordered with a custom cover:

The company I purchased the binders from dealt with printing the cover art.  I paid a lot more for the binders than I might have done but I wanted this collection of information/samples to last for a long time so it seemed a higher quality binder than what I could get from Staples was in order.  In the end I believe I made the correct decision as even now, 20+ years later, Magic continues to be valued such that weavers don't get rid of it unless they need to.  Most commonly you find it in estate sales or weavers unable to weave and they are downsizing to go into care.  

Once all of the original copies were sold, I converted the files into a pdf (close up photos of the cloth only) and began selling it that way.  

Then when I decided to publish The Intentional Weaver, we used that pdf to test the blurb website.  

From time to time I see a flurry of orders for Magic (like the past week) and I can only assume someone somewhere has got the word out about Magic.

I took a few days 'off' from working on the ms but I meet with my editor this afternoon.  She has been working on the file and it will be my turn to take one more sweep through to deal with the sprinkling of commas I couldn't face last week.  I mean, I love me some commas - just not that many!  :D   I've trained myself over the years to remove commas that aren't necessary.  Perhaps I've swung the other way?  

At any rate, I believe I've decided on a cover photo, so now to get the cover generated.  Out of my wheelhouse - my editor will work her magic on that.

I've also been mulling over the indexing and I may do something less...conventional.  Will discuss with my editor today.  The bibliography is coming along and should be ready Saturday.  I mention quite a few books in the various essays and it's always a good idea to provide information on them in case people want to search for them.  But a bib takes time to get the information collected and I just haven't much felt like doing that kind of nit-picking digging.

I did create a Zoom event for the official book launch.  This morning School of Sweet Georgia listed it on their calendar even though it isn't actually an SOS event.  That was very kind of them, and I'm very grateful.  And not a little nervous!  

It occurs to me that weaving and writing have a lot in common.  You have to have an idea.  You do a shit ton of preparation before you even begin.  You do the physical work of the task.  Then you spend ages doing the 'finishing'.  And you never really know until you present what you've done to the public if the public is even interested or willing to plunk their money down.

Given I'm self-publishing, the marketing is down to me.  And my closest friends who are willing to spread the word...(do feel free to share!)

Zoom link:  for book launch July 9 at noon Pacific time zone

School of Sweet Georgia (for signed copies of The Intentional Weaver after June 28)

Blurb website (for Magic and TIW - unsigned - and soon Stories from the Matrix)

My ko-fi shop (for tea towels and copies of Kerstin Fröberg's Weave a V)

Stay tuned.  I'm going to be 'noisy' about this for a while...just saying...